The city will be having some sanitary sewer maintenance work completed in mid-November and early December. Work will occur along McMenemy Street between Walker Drive and Kohler Road and along Centerville Road from Edgerton Street to the south dead end. A letter has been sent to property owners affected by this project. Work will be completed by Visu-Sewer, Inc. and included placement of a liner within the existing sanitary sewer.
The existing sanitary sewer is a clay pipe that becomes prone to groundwater infiltration as it ages. This infiltration leads to unnecessary and expensive treatment of “clean” water. In order to prevent this infiltration, the city has televised and identified the sanitary sewer in the affected areas to be improved. This is the fifth year that we have completed such an improvement. There are no assessments to the properties for this work, as it is funded as part of our quarterly sanitary sewer charges.
The work will include an innovative process of placing a special membrane lining inside the clay pipe, creating a new smooth-surfaced, long-lasting pipe within the existing sanitary sewer. This work will be done without time consuming, expensive and disruptive excavation to the street. Access to the sewer is obtained by using the existing manholes.
This work is scheduled to occur sometime between November 14 and December 5. There is no work scheduled November 24-27. The exact dates for work in specific areas have not yet been determined. During construction, the membrane lining does take approximately 12 hours to complete and cure. After the liner is placed, a machine will be operated in the sewer to open up each properties’ individual service to the main sewer. Therefore, during this 12 hour period of time, the sewer connection to the affected home will be completely sealed off. Consequently, we will need the cooperation of property owners to make zero use of toilet and laundry facilities for 12 hours. We recognize that this is a great inconvenience, but it is unavoidable. In other words, property owners will have water available to their home but no sanitary service for drains or toilets.
Property owners will receive a door hanger at least 24 hours in advance informing them of the time and date of your 12 hour zero water use period. If the schedule changes for that particular date, property owners will receive a door hanger notifying them of the cancellation too.
We appreciate the cooperation of all affected property owners and apologize in advance for the inconveniences caused during this project. Please know that this project provides a great benefit to the city’s infrastructure system and the individual properties that it serves.
If you have any questions or want further information, please contact City Engineer Mark Graham at 651-204-6050 or at mark.graham@cityvadnaisheights.com.