Remaining Signal Mountain customers of Hamilton County Water and Wastewater Treatment Authority will be the final wave in WWTA’s pilot study as it tests and rectifies sewer issues. Nearly 300 residents comprised the initial surge.
“It puts y’all a little ahead of the game,” said WWTA Executive Director Cleveland Grimes.
The study will then be used as a model to implement necessary fixes for the rest of WWTA’s 24,000 customers over the next seven years, WWTA chief engineer Mark Harrison said.
The nearly 1,300 Signal Mountain property owners should be receiving letters by the end of this week. An open community meeting will be held Thursday, May 13 from 6 to 7 p.m. at Nolan Elementary to answer questions and give an overview of what affected residents can expect.
Citizens may not opt out of the study, Grimes said. Work is expected to be completed by this fall.
“Our goal is to make sure that if a homeowner is paying the $8 they’re getting what they pay for,” Grimes said.
Based on the work completed thus far, he said WWTA is finding what it expected in the more than 40-year-old sewer pipes on Signal Mountain – outside contamination issues due to inefficient clay pipes.
ABOUT THE STUDYA community meeting will be held Thursday, May 13 from 6 to 7 p.m. at Nolan Elementary to answer questions and give an overview of what affected residents can expect during the upcoming WWTA pilot study.Citizens can choose from WWTA’s pool of 23 local plumbers here. Three names will be selected at random each time a customer clicks “Find a PSLP Qualified Master Plumber” under the PSLP tab.
Per WWTA regulations, lateral pipes from homes to the main sewer line must be made of PVC or ductile iron. Any lateral made of other substances or that is found to not be air-tight through smoke tests and cameras placed in pipes will be replaced during a four-phase process of evaluation, assignments, repairs and final testing. Work will be guaranteed for five years, at which point the line will be tested again.
This work is covered by the $8 fee which went into effect last year.
“That $8 fee for people who need it is a bargain,” Grimes said based on the first phase of pilot study work. “We had more people who couldn’t afford to fix the line at cost without having the $8 fee in place.”
The only thing homeowners will have to pay for at this time is emergency repairs or any additional work that may be required due to other water sources, such as gutters, basement sump pumps and yard drains, being connected to their lateral. Such work will be required but will not be required to be directed to the plumbers already contracted and randomly assigned to do the pilot study and resultant lateral repairs, although they are trained professionals and WWTA-approved.
“In the case of emergencies we really want homeowners to make the call (on a plumber),” Grimes said.