The Board of Selectmen recently took up the issue of the main sewer line in response to a letter to the editor I had submitted to the daily newspaper. The piece can be found on this site in a July 1 entry entitled "Sewer Talk".
Apparently plans are underway to address the length of the line which extends beyond the three sections that have already failed. According to Mr. Mercier the line has been camera tested and plans are underway to line the inside of the pipe to prevent further erosion and potential failure caused by sewer gas.
The second concern raised in the letter related to the age of the primary force main which runs from Terrace Hall directly through the Great Meadow well field. The comments on this problem were not quite as proactive.
The essence of my concerns are these:
1.The cross country forced main is over fifty years old and the bulk of the town's effluent flows through it.
2. The line will be put under further strain as a result of a variety of new and very large developments coming on board. Lahey Clinic's expansion, Wayside Commons, and the National Development site on Muller Road will add enormous amounts of new effluent flow into the system supported by the cross country sewer main. The Wayside Commons is of particular concern because of the large number of restaurants that will located there. Restaurants are huge producers of sewerage.
3. If the line fails in the Great Meadow it might be days or even weeks before the leaking sewerage was detected and might result in damage to the production capacity of the well field.
The result of such a failure would be a catastrophic event from an economic and environmental perspective. I do not have any information or a crystal ball that indicates to me that that failure of this line is either imminent or even probable. Conversely, neither does town management have any information to indicate that the line is immune from such a failure.
There is one way to be sure and that is to get inside the line with a camera and assess its condition. According to the DPW this is "almost technically impossible". The argument here is that since the line is under constant pressure how can a camera be placed in the line to check the integrity of the pipe?
Impossible and almost impossible are two entirely different scenarios. I contend that it is possible to thoroughly examine this pipe. Very late at night when the flow is the smallest, the DPW could pump the remaining flow out of the Terrace Hall station and into the Vine Brook. While the flow was bypassed a camera could then be sent into the line to explore the entire length from Terrace Hall to the junction at South Bedford Street.
Another action that could be taken on a regular basis is water and soil testing along the length of the line that is in the Great Meadow. Any change in bacteria levels could certainly indicate problems with the line.
I am not crying that the sky is falling or shouting fire in a crowded room. I would be glad to see any of these concerns proven to be only those of a nervous Nellie. The location of this pipe is common knowledge and so is its importance to the community. Everything possible should be be done to insure its integrity.
