[Durham INC] Broken Sewer Main and Goose Creek

[John Martin]

Hi Folks,
A couple of days ago an East Durham resident, Kate Demayo, noticed black sludge in Goose Creek near East Main St. and reported it.  It turns out that a sewer main had broken a few blocks away and raw sewage was being discharged into Goose Creek. I want to thank her for reporting this.  If she hadn't done this, no one knows how long this pollution would have continued.  I also want to thank city officials and staff for responding very quickly and dealing with the problem.  
There is a larger issue, however:  the condition of our sewer mains.  We all know that when Tom Bonfield came to Durham, he expressed dismay at the condition of our streets.  To his credit, he took action to pass a bond measure to repair our streets.  But neither he nor most of the rest of us can see our sewers.  I worry that they may need similar attention.
Therefore, I posted several questions on the list serv about the sewer main that broke: 
) How old is this particular sanitary sewer main?2) When was any maintenance last done on it?3) When was it last inspected for possible leakage/breakage issues, and how was that inspection carried out? I'd like to thank Councilwoman Diane Catotti for passing these questions to staff for answers.  I'd like to thank Bill Miller for his prompt answer: According to our database this sewer main was installed in 1925 and is 8” VCP (Vitrified Clay Pipe) and was last serviced on 6/17/05 when it was cleaned and CCTV’d.  
While, I appreciate the quick answer, I hope I'm not the only person disturbed by the answer.  It seems to me (and I freely admit that I'm not an expert) that vitrified clay pipe that is 87 years old has to be near the end of its useful life.  If we don't take steps to repair and replace now, we will pay a higher price later, both monetarily and in terms of ecological damage.
I'd very much like to hear the views of people more knowledgable about this than I am.
John Martin, PresidentInterNeighborhood Council of Durham 



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