'Unique' Sewage Work Could Require Inconveniences for Baldwin, Whitehall Residents

Faced with failing sewage lines that are under hillsides and possibly 30 feet below ground level, Baldwin Borough officials are looking at some "unique" repairs in the coming months.

A recent mandated study of the sewer lines in the Streets Run Watershed area of central Baldwin (near the Whitehall Borough border) revealed parts of a sewage system that are "either failing or showing signs of failure," Baldwin Manager John Barrett said. "We don't have the option of, 'Well, let's just not do anything.' These are repairs that need to be made."

Things counted as contributing to those failures are blockage, large cracks in pipes and separations in joints.

And while much of the needed repairs will be handled in a routine fashion, the topography of the area in question—Leona and Young drives, especially—will also force contractors and borough engineers to get a bit creative.

"There's more than Leona and Young," Barrett said, "but Leona and Young certainly are the ones that are the most precarious.

"Leona is a unique situation where homes were built on stilts with steep backyards. To get to the line that is servicing that home, it requires you to drill an estimation of between 25 and 30 feet deep. When you start thinking about drilling a 30-foot hole in the ground, you start realizing what kind of equipment you would need: Dig 20 feet down, create a bench, dig another 10 feet down. You're gonna have to haul material out of the way because it's really tight, and you might have to shore up the houses so they don't lose their foundation.

"It's a dangerous proposition to dig that deep."

The good news for residents in the area whose properties might be affected by the repairs, including some Whitehall neighbors, is that all of them would be made to public lines, Barrett said, meaning that the municipal offices of the boroughs involved are financially responsible for paying for them.

Nevertheless, for some specific areas where repairs are needed, contractors may have to traverse through private property, including possibly in some basements, in order to reach troubled spots. In those cases, Barrett said, the property owners would be contacted.

"We're absolutely gonna have to talk to residents about this," Barrett said. "We don't want to just show up with bulldozers in your yard."

In a move that could save time and money, the Baldwin Council will seek bids for two segments of this repairs project—the routine parts and the tricky parts. The total cost amount could still approach $2 million, Barrett said.

Borough engineers are expected to do some geotechnical research for the tricky parts to give contractors a better idea of the risks involved with moving great amounts of earth in those areas. The research would include soil sampling.

Barrett said that the Baldwin Council is also considering installing grinder pumps for homes with lines that flow into the damaged system. The grinder pumps, installed at a shallow depth, would transport sewage from homes' rears to a line in the front of the homes.

In that case, Barrett said, deep holes like the potential 30-foot ones wouldn't need to be dug.

Emphasizing the necessity of these repairs are the risks associated with failed sewage lines for nearby residents. Some residents' structures are .

In those instances, a burst or a leak could prove to be quite costly for the homeowners—or even dangerous.

Nevertheless, Barrett said that, due to research, bidding and other preparations, contractors are still months away from starting these repairs. That gives borough officials time to notify property owners of any need to use their land.

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