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Sewer extension on track in Pepper Pike
(by Sali McSherry - October 08, 2008)
Sewer extension on track in Pepper Pike
By SALI McSHERRY
The northwest quadrant sanitary-sewer project in Pepper Pike is moving forward, with construction scheduled to be completed by the end of the year.
About 200 homes are being converted from septic systems to sewers, city Engineer Donald Sheehy said. The majority of residents from each street affected by the change voted for sewers, he said. The cost is about $2.5 million, he said.
Longo Sewer Construction Co., of Cleveland, has completed the sanitary sewer and force-main installation and connections on Gates Mills Boulevard, North Woodland and Kersdale roads and parts of Fairmount Boulevard.
Mayor Bruce H. Akers said last week that the contractor was performing restoration work on all of the areas that were disturbed as part of the initial sewer installation. In many areas, the restoration is substantially complete, driveways are restored, and grass is planted and growing on Gates Mills Boulevard and North Woodland Road. Areas on Kersdale Road and Fairmount Boulevard were to be restored last week.
The contractor is extending the sewers on Windy Hill and Fairwood drives and then will do the remaining portion of Fairmount Boulevard, west of Kersdale Road. Those three sections will take approximately two to three months to complete, weather permitting, Mr. Akers said. Driveway restoration will be completed as each street is finished, while final landscape restoration and planting of new grass will likely take place next spring, he said.
Mr. Akers said the Cuyahoga County Board of Health will contact residents with a notice that they have 90 days to switch to sewers, but that will occur only after all of the sewer work is complete and accepted by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.
The system will be complete and accepted in approximately four to five months at the earliest, he said. The city will work closely with the Cuyahoga County Board of Health on the timing of the notice, "so no one is caught off guard," Mr. Akers said. "Those who will be out of town until April or May should not worry about being pressed for time."
The pump-station installation on Kersdale Road, at a cost of $375,000, is complete, Mr. Sheehy said. That contract was awarded early last year, because there are long lead times for ordering equipment and controls, he said. It's the sixth pump station built in the city, he said.
The city is considering turning its one remaining waste-water treatment plant into a pump station, Mr. Akers said. The Easterly treatment plant, which serves about 350 homes, the Orange School District and the Lander Circle business district, needs major updating, he said.
Mr. Sheehy is studying options, including rehabilitating the plant, replacing it or building a pump station that would tie into the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, Mr. Akers said. A pump station is more environmentally friendly than a treatment plant, he said.
The Easterly plant, which is off of SOM Center Road (Route 91), between Pinetree Road and Shaker Boulevard, was built in 1962 and upgraded in 1986, Mr. Sheehy said. It becomes more difficult to replace treatment-plant components that are over 20 years old, he said. There's also a certain amount of pollution in the discharge from the plant to the main branch of the Pepper Creek, he said.
Mr. Sheehy said he would make his recommendations to City Council after studying cost issues, where the flow would be taken to and other factors. Estimates to operate a pump station at the Easterly plant location would cost about $40,000 annually, compared to $400,000 to operate the treatment plant.
Mr. Sheehy said he is in preliminary discussions with the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District and the Cuyahoga County sanitary engineer, which maintains the city's pump stations and treatment plant.
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