Authority members to meet with DEP over sewage system
BROWNSVILLE – Members of the Brownsville Municipal Authority will be meeting with the state Department of Environmental Resources in a few weeks to discuss the next steps for a revised consent order for improvements to the sewage treatment system. The authority’s solicitor, Ernest DeHaas, said the meeting has been set up for the morning of Dec. 15 at the DEP’s California Borough office.
“They have a few questions or alternative suggestions,” DeHaas said.
DeHaas said the DEP has suggested that the authority reduce the number of holding tanks to control water flow in the new system and replace them with either larger pump stations or sequential pumps to handle additional flow. He said the DEP has also suggested that the existing plant be used as a holding tank in the event of overflow conditions. He said the DEP would like to see a final plant design by March 1, 2004, something engineer Rusty Mechling said could be difficult.
“We had said it would take three months once the agreement (with the DEP) was finalized, so it would be tight, especially with the holidays,” Mechling said.
In other matters, Mechling presented cost estimates for line repairs to help alleviate flooding problems in the Hiller area. Mechling suggested replacing a 10-inch line that runs through the Hiller Volunteer Fire Department parking lot with a 12-inch line along High Street to an alley leading to Fayette Avenue. The new lines are expected to cost about $67,000. The second half of the project calls for existing sewer lines in the alley to Fayette and up to First Street at an estimated cost of about $120,000.
“We know from televising that area that they are bad and need to be replaced and they could be a contributing source of flooding,” Mechling said.
Mechling said the camera placed in the line showed constricted areas and numerous breaks. He said the authority could also benefit from checking the lines below the Army Reserve Center in Hiller with a camera to see if there is a single point of water infiltration in that area, or if there is a more general problem.
“We did find that there is a significant amount of water coming into the system in that area,” Mechling said.
Mechling said the replacement of the lines near the fire hall potentially could alleviate problems with the water coming from the Reserve Center area as well, depending on the amount of water infiltrating the system in that area. Mechling noted that the majority of the new line projects would be for street paving, since the lines are located in the streets and would need to be dug up.
The authority voted to have Mechling prepare specifications to put the project in the area of the fire hall out for bids.
The authority also discussed the possibility of donating its existing truck and snow plow to Brownsville Borough once its new truck and plow are delivered. DeHaas is researching the matter to see if there are any restrictions on the disposition of authority property.