Sewage Spill Happened in March, Cleaned Up in May

The public fallout from a sewage spill near Haddonfield's Wedgewood Swim Club appears to be growing.

On Tuesday, the borough Director of Utilities Joe Keating said the spill, which was largely publicized for the first time late last week, actually occurred in early March.

On Friday and Monday borough workers filled two trash bags full of debris from the spill, mostly c-fold paper towels, they said, at the site. They also spread lime over the low-lying area near a swamp to mitigate the stench that had hung in the air for the past two months.

The waste flowed out of a utility manhole in a wooded area near Centre Street and Upland Way after the blockage and after up to 3,500 gallons of water was pumped into the line behind a sewer jet, a water-propelled snake-type device, to clear the jam. The manhole was nearly 1,000 feet from where the sewer jet entered.

Camden County Department of Health and state Department of Environmental Protection officials visited the remote site on Friday and Monday and concluded the remediation of the spill alleviated a public hazard, according to Ron Tomasello, a Camden County spokesman.

But many locals aren't buying it. They're hopping mad about the spill, which they think was a result of negligence from local officials. The situation has become more heated with a contested election for the three top seats in borough government less than a week away.

"I was also not satisfied with the solution," Brian Kelly, the leader of a grassroots activist group called Haddonfield United, said Tuesday in a comment on Haddon Patch. "Pouring lime over that huge area of sewage did nothing but cover up all the toilet paper.

"The reason it constantly smelled at Wedgewood and the surrounding neighborhood and toilet paper accumulation was a foot thick over that huge area was because after each discharge IT WASN'T CLEANED UP."

Keating said he "dropped the ball" by not reporting the spill two months ago when it occurred and by not cleaning it up sooner. He said the sewer line sits in a low-lying area that is not accessible because it lies at the edge of a swamp and down a 20-foot embankment. He said his staff wasn't able to get to the location immediately after the spill because it was submerged ankle-deep in water and sewage.

"It's a bad situation," Keating said Tuesday. "It's going to be a very expensive fix, well over $1 million."

He said the fix would include getting the line up to a road and a pump station would likely need to be installed. Keating said he has been the borough director of utilities for 37 years and the line was there long before he was hired.

Political consequences for the spill

The spill could be even more costly for two incumbent candidates running for reelection to the borough Board of Commissioners. Ed Borden and Jeff Kasko have both commented publicly about the spill and defended their actions before and after it occurred.

"Yes, it's smelly, but no one from the public health department thought it was a major public health problem," Borden said last week. "Certainly, this is not something desirable. We want to address it with a permanent fix."

Kasko and Borden went to inspect the site last week, though neither is in charge of public works.

"Obviously, for me, this is a very serious environmental and public health concern since this line is located so close to the Cooper Creek and the swim club, tennis courts, Plays and Players, and Crows Woods fields," Kasko said Tuesday. "We are discussing short-term and long-term options to prevent this from happening again, including replacement and relocation of this sewer line and pumping station. While relocation would be a very expensive undertaking, we have to consider it in order to protect public health and the viability of our area's ecosystem."

The outgoing commissioner and mayor, Letitia "Tish" Colombi, is the director of public works. She has not publicly commented on the spill.

Both Kasko and Borden said they thought the spill occurred last week. Keating said he became aware of it on March 11 and flushed the pipes then, as well.

It was not immediately reported when he told borough officials about the spill.

Sewer backups not uncommon

Backups in this sewer line are not uncommon, borough officials said. It has backed up and overflowed on numerous occasions, most recently a year about a year ago.

Keating said the line is cleared by sewer jet four times a year, but could clog at any time. He and other officials said a major source of blockage seems to be coming from Tavistock Country Club, which borders the borough and feeds waste into the line. Tavistock pays a fee for access to the sewer, but has not been assessed a fee for maintenance and repair of the line.

Borough officials stopped short of blaming Tavistock for the recent sewer-line blockage, but said the c-fold paper towels cleaned up after the spill are commonly used in public restrooms. They also pointed to an agreement several years ago that forced Tavistock to install a grease trap to avoid flushing cooking waste in to the system.

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