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Sunman council weighs prescriptive easement after downtown mapping finds buried clay main
Summary
At an April 21 meeting, Sunman council members reviewed 2002 mapping and camera footage showing a buried 6‑inch clay sewer main behind downtown buildings and agreed to jet, re‑camera, GPS manholes and notify property owners before pursuing a prescriptive easement to clarify ownership and maintenance responsibilities.
Sunman council members on April 21 reviewed town mapping and camera footage that staff said show a buried 6‑inch clay sanitary main running behind several downtown business properties and agreed to collect further evidence before seeking a prescriptive easement.
The foreman reported that the town’s map "is from 2002, so it's at least 23 years old," and said the line in question appears to be a clay main with two manholes that make it a main. He described seeing multiple laterals from adjacent buildings tying into the line and said a camera run had encountered grease that prevented viewing the full run. "We ran a camera down it and there was a lateral for the apartment building," the foreman said, describing the limited footage.
Council members said the town needs stronger documentary proof before asserting a prescriptive easement. One council member cautioned, "I don't want to come back in 6 months and be getting taken to court because we thought it was, but it really wasn't," urging that the town assemble irrefutable evidence before recording any notice.
Officials identified the immediate next steps they will pursue: jet and clean the suspect section, re‑run the camera and log distances to taps, GPS the manholes and other access points, prepare a written legal description of the line and notify affected property owners in writing. If those steps confirm the town’s use and location of the pipe, staff said the town would prepare documentation for a future meeting to consider formally recording a prescriptive easement.
The discussion noted practical details and constraints: the existing map shows manholes behind buildings in the business district, staff estimated the town has more than 1,000 manholes in total, and at least one manhole in question sits at a dead end collecting flows from multiple inlets. Speakers also raised technical questions about excavation clearances and who would be responsible for replacing minor nonstructural improvements (patios, fences) if the town needed to dig to replace a pipe.
No formal vote on an easement occurred during the meeting. Council members moved to proceed with the field work and record‑keeping described above; they said a formal vote to adopt a prescriptive easement would be scheduled only after staff compiles camera footage, GPS coordinates and a prepared description of the line.
