Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Sewer Televising topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Engineer: 21,000 feet of sewer video shows no catastrophic failures but finds widespread sand, debris and needed cleaning
Summary
An MPCA-funded sewer televising of about 21,000 feet found no catastrophic line failures but identified many short pipe repairs, service-lateral infiltration, and sections inundated with sand and debris; an engineer will deliver a written report and cost estimates and will attend the March meeting to answer questions.
Jason, the engineer who presented on the MPCA-funded televising, told the board the contractor completed about 21,000 feet of sewer inspection and did not find any "catastrophic failure(s)." He said most problems were discrete: short sections of pipe needing repair, service laterals contributing infiltration and inflow, and several segments that were "inundated with sand and debris."
"They didn't find anything that was like a catastrophic failure," Jason said. He described repeated jetting in some locations — in several places the contractor had to clean lines five to seven times before the camera could pass — and said the contractor reported some pipe segments were roughly two-thirds full of sand before cleaning.
Jason said the firm will produce a summary memo that lists identified defects, recommends repairs and routine cleaning, and includes a rough budgetary cost estimate and an updated sewer map. He told the board the contractor also located a few manholes that were not on the district's existing map. Jason said he expects to finalize the report in the coming week and will attend the March meeting in person to review findings and answer questions.
Board members pressed for information about where removed material had been dumped. Jason said he would ask the contractor for truck counts to back-calculate tonnage; Greg (district operations) said the contractor had been dumping material "in the corner of the pond." Jason said the report will identify locations that need cleaning so the board can develop a plan of action and consider capital improvements or grant/loan funding for repairs.
Why it matters: the inspection is intended to give the district a near-complete view of its sewer mains and to inform short-term cleaning and longer-term capital planning. The engineer framed the findings as manageable — concentrated repairs and substantial cleaning rather than large-scale failures — but said the mapping and cost estimates will drive any grant applications or financing decisions.
Next steps: the engineer will provide a written report and an updated map, include recommended priorities and a budget estimate, and attend the board's March meeting to present the findings in person.
