Sewer Overflows, Again, at Trotters Club (Video)

While many are lamenting the deluge of rain, the residents of Trotters Club have a serious concern: sewage overflow. 

And one resident took a video of it (see above).

The overflow has prompted an email conversation between one resident and county officials — all with media CC'd. 

Wednesday afternoon, Jeanette Rehrig sent pictures and videos to Dorchester County staff, County Council and members of the media. 

She wrote: 

GOOD AFTERNOON MR. WARD (Jason Ward, Dorchester County Administrator)! 

It's another fine SEWER OVERFLOW DAY Around TROTTERS RIDGE subdivision!

YES, its been raining.  Lots.  But, SEWER belongs in a pipe, not in our yards or in our adjacent creek.  

It's been way too much of a regular occurrence- of me wasting yet another entire day of my life worrying about and documenting the sewage problems in our Trotters Ridge Neighborhood. 

I continue to be amazed that the Dorchester County Sewer Department still has not solved this problem, and that SC DHEC, Dorchester County Council, and others of supposed positions of authority and/or oversight seem to provide little or no impact.  The sewer continues to flow un-restrained by its pipes.    

Clearly, Dorchester County could have and should have made better choices in managing these overflows and the sewer system in general.  

VIDEO & PICTURES ARE CURRENT.

This is a video that perhaps illustrates what happens when we don't actually use engineering data to clearly solve a problem.

Video links:  http://youtu.be/TiMUYE_JBc8

http://youtu.be/wRWK-WEsgb8

We let things happen instead of making them happen.

We pass the buck.

We accept the use of  "band aid" actions instead of a solid engineered plan based on real data.  

We avoid the fiduciary responsibility of real oversight and review as to what is or isn't a good plan of action. 

Rumphs Hill Creek is receiving gallons and gallons and gallons of raw sewage - from a Dorchester County sewer manhole. 

The newly aligned sewer manway is part of the new Pine Forest Development plans -and is currently pouring RAW SEWAGE  (feces, toilet paper, etc.) into Rumphs Hill Creek.

You can actually see the toilet paper and debris pouring out of the manway.   The sewer man hole cover was thrown off by over-pressurization/over-flow of the system, in a "way too small" sewer line, in an area where Dorchester County continues to accept more and more development with more and more sewer inputs.  

Get someone to do the math of the sewer system.  See how all of this was so predictable, and so preventable.

Changing an angle of flow doesn't fix this kind of problem,  nor does diverting houses and pump stations -- particularly if you still continue to add more houses and inputs into the system. 

Increased development at whose expense?  and to whose benefit?

Do the math.  Be competent.   STOP THE SEWAGE OVERFLOWS! 

Words can not express how helpless, how frustrated, and how angry I and my neighbors become, watching raw sewage pour out into the environment.  Our environment- where our families and friends live, work, and play. There simply is no excuse for these kind of sewer overflows to continue to happen.   

Happy Independence Day.

We could use some revolution...

I remain.

Jeanette S. Rehrig

3012 Trotters Club Way

Dorchester County Resident/Taxpayer/Voter

News folks:  Feel free to use pictures/video/words, etc. contained herein.  Since we here at Trotters Ridge do not receive information/updates from the county- may you have better luck there. 

Mrs. Rehrig, County Council, and Media:

Dorchester County is concerned about flooding in Trotter’s Ridge and has made improvements to the manholes near Trotters Ridge and Pine Forest along Rumphs Hill Creek. I have seen the attached photographs and noted your concern. I have spoken to the Water and Sewer Director, Kristen Champagne. Ms. Champagne and her staff are in the area currently.

Since May 2013, the Dorchester County Water and Sewer Department has installed flood tight hinged manhole covers along and around Rumphs Hill Creek.  Additionally, hinged and locking manhole cover has been installed in the Trotters Club Way cul de sac.  This was installed to prevent any sewer or stormwater from coming out of the manhole.  According to Water and Sewer staff who has been monitoring this area, we have not had a spill in the cul de sac during these last several days of rain.

The Water and Sewer Department, identified the following five projects and has began implementing several measures to improve the sewer system in the Rumphs Hill Creek area:

1.)  The owner of the Pine Forest development will realign the existing sewer mains at three locations along Rumphs Hill Creek in conjunction with the development of their new phase. Two of the three projects have been completed.

·         The existing 15-inch sewer main along Rumphs Hill Creek will be realigned just upstream of Orangeburg Road. The flow will have smaller bends which will improve the flow through the pipe. An easement plat has been provided by the owner of the Pine Forest tract. The County has secured easements.

·         The existing 8-inch sewer main from Reeves Elementary and Dubose Middle Schools has been realigned to a more favorable angle (greater than ninety degrees) with the Rumphs Hill Creek main. This will provide improved flow away from the schools.  This was completed May 4, 2013.

·         The existing 8-inch sewer main from Trotters Ridge has been realigned to a more favorable angle (greater than ninety degrees) with the Rumphs Hill Creek main. This will provide improved flow away from Trotters Ridge. This was completed May 4, 2013.

2.)    Dorchester County Water and Sewer has an agreement with Summerville CPW to divert approximately 415 customers to Summerville CPW.  This project includes diverting Pump Station 25 to the Summerville CPW sewer system. The construction drawings are complete. All permits other than railroad are complete. We anticipate that the diversion to Summerville CPW will be completed in late September/early November of 2013.

3.)    Dorchester County Highway 27 Diversion Project will divert all sewer from the Ridgeville area which current flows through Knightsville (approximately 360,000 GPD or 1,440 ERUs) through a new 16 inch forcemain that will be constructed along Highway 27 and will manifold into the Pump Station 120 forcemain. The anticipated completion is March 2014.

4.) Dorchester County plans to divert the sewer from pump station 5 (approximately 1475 ERUs) located on Highway 78 around the Rumphs Hill Creek gravity truck line to pump station 4.  Engineering is underway.

5.  Dorchester County is planning to eliminate approximately 3,600 Linear Feet of 24 inch gravity line that discharges into pump station 2 and replacing it with a 24 or 30 inch forcemain that will discharge directly into the wet well. Water and Sewer has selected an engineer for design. 

Please confirm the location of the manholes in the photographs that you sent. Ms. Champagne and her staff are in the area. If these are manholes in the new section of Pine Forest Country Club that is under construction, these manholes and the associated sewer lines should not be in service because the area is still under construction and the county has not accepted the system for service.

Sincerely,

Update

Time 4:50pm

July, 3, 2013