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Public Works superintendent reports six lift stations down after alley sewer collapse
Summary
Public Works Superintendent Kurt Krepps told the Malden Board of Public Works that six lift stations are offline and a Davis alley sewer line collapsed; he warned baby wipes are clogging pumps and proposed a customer billing flyer to reduce future damage.
Public Works Superintendent Kurt Krepps told the Malden Board of Public Works on Feb. 24 that the city is facing multiple water and wastewater disruptions, including a collapsed sewer line and several pump failures.
Krepps said chlorine levels "are nonexistent at his office, mid-town, and at the airbase," and reported that Well 5 is currently the only running well serving the system. He said the Davis sewer line in the alley collapsed and that both Ollie and Davis lift stations went down as a result of recent problems.
Krepps also said baby wipes "are stopping up the trash pumps" at Ollie and Gray lift stations, contributing to mechanical failures. He listed six lift stations that are out of service or impaired: MSI (waiting on Weaver), Gray, Ollie (pumps on hand), Davis (pumps on hand), MLK (estimates received), and Ford (estimates received). Those estimates are intended to guide repair work and procurement, he said.
Board members did not record additional questions about financing; earlier in the meeting the board noted there were no questions on the financial reports. Krepps said staff discussed producing a flyer to include with customer bills to explain that flushing baby wipes is damaging pumps and increasing repair costs for ratepayers.
The board did not take a formal vote on emergency repairs during the session. Krepps said staff will pursue estimates and repairs and will bring cost and timeline details back to the board for formal consideration.
