City takes on sewer problems

PRINCETON — The problem of sewer line back-ups has got the Princeton City Council digging for some answers.

At Monday’s meeting, the council heard from engineer Kevin Heitz on possible solutions for problems which happen after heavy rains or melting snow in certain parts of the city, including back-up of water or water in basements.

One of those solutions is to build one or two storage lagoons for the overflow water from the storm sewers, Heitz said. The extra water would be pumped to the storage lagoon until the city’s wastewater plant could process the additional water. The primary location for a lagoon would be on the east edge of town to handle the Park Avenue East area sewer lines, he said.

Heitz also addressed back-up problems with the Greencroft Subdivision on the southwest edge of town. Currently, the Greencroft and Park Avenue West sewer lines travel to a lift station at Alexander Park. However, the combined flows can sometimes be too much for the lift station to handle, Heitz said.

One solution for the Greencroft Subdivision problem would be to install a relief sewer line to carry water from that area to the wastewater treatment plant. The cost of that installation would be about $300,000, possibly more if the city needed to do work on the West Central Avenue lift station to handle the increased water flow.

Mayor Keith Cain said he had some concerns about putting that kind of money into a relief sewer, if the wastewater plant itself could not handle the extra capacity that quickly.

After further discussion and questions by the council, Princeton City Manager Jeff Fiegenschuh directed Heitz to continue working with Wastewater Treatment Plant Superintendent Scott Wallis and city officials to research the city’s options. He wants the council to have something to vote on in February.

“I want the residents to know we are serious about resolving this problem,” Fiegenschuh said. “We are sympathetic to their problem, and we are committed to finding a solution.”

Fiegenschuh said the Greencroft sewer relief line project, as well as other sewer upgrades, are part of an $11.4 million package he has compiled for submission to President-elect Barack Obama’s potential economic stimulus package.