A resident of the Kettle Road area recently pleaded with Logan Township supervisors to allow a sewer project for 15 homes in his neighborhood because their septic systems are failing.
But the proposal does not meet cost-effectiveness standards, township officials said.
It’s not particularly close, according to Dave Pozgar, director of the sewer department.
A sewer line costing $225,000 could service 15 existing homes and allow for the likely construction of two more, Jeff Emeigh told a township meeting that several neighbors also attended. Emeigh lives along City View Street between Valley View Park and Rose Hill Cemetery on the west side of I-99.
Such a project would not only eliminate septic problems in its immediate vicinity, but reduce runoff issues that reach 30 other properties downstream, Emeigh said.
“You could clean it all up” he told supervisors.
The current conditions are unacceptable, “(and) it will only get worse”, he said. “You can feel it. It’s really unsanitary. »
Some septic tanks in the neighborhood could not “to get closer” to pass inspection, Emeigh said.
He spent $7,000 on a French drain to protect his well.
But the township does not accept Emeigh’s projected calculations.
An engineer recently estimated it would cost $456,000 to build a line in the Emeigh neighborhood that would serve 12 homes, according to Pozgar.
He does not know where the other three houses Emeigh referred to are, he said.
The technical estimate translates to $38,000 per property, he said.
A few years ago, the “magic number” how far it made sense to build a line was $18,000 to $20,000 per property, depending on borrowing costs, payback period and current sewer bills – which is $640 per year for most residents, Pozgar said.
Current inflation has likely increased the magic number, but it certainly hasn’t hit $38,000, Pozgar said.
The township has authorized projects with a cost per property of up to $35,000, but that was “too high, in my opinion” said Pozgar.
Neighbors always have the option of banding together to do the project themselves, according to Pozgar and others.
They could do this for probably 60% of the township cost because they wouldn’t have to pay prevailing wages, Pozgar said.
That would mean it could cost around $273,000.
They would need to hire an engineer and then a contractor to do the construction.
They would then turn it over to the township, which would take care of the upkeep, he said.
An alternative to building a line would be to install holding tanks, which would have to be pumped out from time to time, but this option is “very expensive,” he said.
The City View neighborhood isn’t the only one in the township with failing septic systems, Pozgar said.
Homes in the City View neighborhood are included in a Law 537 sewer plan that was passed in 2015, but the plan calls for them to receive sewer service in 20 years, or 2035, the city manager said. township, Tim Brown.
“We appreciate your coming,” supervisors, President Jim Patterson told Emeigh. “You can meet the manager and sewer manager and see where we are and what we can do.”
There may be state funding that would help. “We will try to do everything we can in our power and in our pockets”, said Patterson.
“Maybe next year or the year after we can integrate it,” said Patterson.
“There are no easy answers to this one,” said Pozgar.
The Mirror’s staff writer, William Kibler, is at 814-949-7038.
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