Refurbishing Sewer Lines……Lining Old Pipes Can Save Millions In The End

in 2005, the estimated cost or replacing existing sewer lines in disrepair throughout the city was 50 million dollars…….plus be a heck of a mess on our streets, sidewalks, etc.  The estimated cost of lining the same sewer lines was 12 million dollars…….no mess at all.

Sometime in the past several years, you may have heard or read that the City of Sanford was reconditioning sections of sewer lines in certain section of our city. East Sanford and the historic areas in particular. Most of these lines are very old and have breaks or cracks that allow ground water to infiltrate the sewer system, or sewer to possibly leak into the ground.  The rain or ground water that infiltrates the sewer line is just more liquid the city has to treat at the sewer plant and more cost to sewer customers. 

The city has spent millions of dollars in the past several years refurbishing these sewer lines.  This is done with a lining process referred to by some as ”cured in place.” 

Simply speaking….This process blows a tube, (like a long tube sock) into a section on pipe that requires lining.  Hot liquid is then pumped through the liner causing the material, a form of epoxy, to expand.  With the liquid removed, the material hardens. Next a robot is maneuvered through the new pipe cutting a tap out at each residence allowing the flow from each household to resume. 

I’m sure I have left out a few steps in this procedure.  Hopefully, you get the basic idea of how this pipe lining is preformed.

This process can be preformed on almost any sized water or sewer line and is much more cost effective.  The life expectancy of this material is 30 to 50 years….depending on who you speak to about the product.  In either case, this is a great alternative to digging and replacing lines and cost a fraction of the price.

If you have any questions regarding this issue please call City Manager Hal Hegwerat 919-775-8201.

Water & Sewer rate Info.

Proposed water & sewer rates as compared to surrounding counties.

Inside city rate on top- outside city rate on bottom.

*CCF  is 100 cubic feet.  A cubic foot of water is 7.69 gallons.  4CCF customer is typical residence of 2 people.  7  CCF is typical for a resident of 4 people.

The city of Sanford has supplied water to both city residents and county residents since purchasing the county water system in 2005. City Council is currently reviewing a water and sewer rate increase with the intent of using this revenue to pay for improvements to the current water and sewer systems.  The projected cost of expanding our system is 70 million dollars.  

Our sewer plant is permitted to discharge just over 6 million gallons of treated water into the Deep River each day.  In 2007, city engineers requested an increase in the discharge amount up to 12 million gallons per day from the State.  This would serve the projected needs of the city for the next 20 plus years. 

Preliminary indications suggested the possibility of an increase of up to only 9 million gallons per day. This would have been only a short term fix and the city would have to begin looking at the possibility of an entirely new plant, at another location, within the next 2 to 3 years.  This process would have to begin while adding on to the current plant. It takes 15 years to start a sewer plant from scratch and begin treating sewage.  The cost of a new plant would be over 150 million dollars.

The city water plant is constantly being upgraded to comply with the changing State water quality guidelines.  Improvements to the water system, such as looping lines to create redundancy, seems to be a never ending process.  The goal is to ensure that there is always plenty of drinking water at all times. 

Sanford was fortunate to have water last summer when many other cities were rationing their supply.  The city currently sells “bulk” water to several surrounding counties.  This is sold at a discounted rate.  Since the cost of operating the water plant is basically a fixed cost, any “bulk” sales of water helps our city.  The more we sell the cheaper it is to produce and the better it is for the residents on the system.

Sanford’s possibly projected water and sewer rates will still be less than our neighboring counties. It is almost impossible to compare water and sewer systems since every situation has so many different variables to consider.  The age of the system, capacity, demand, etc. all are important factors.  The average cost increase for water and sewer throughout the State is 5 to 7 percent. 

 We have a very unique opportunity to expand our plant and be prepared for the future.  If Bristol-Meyers had decided to build in Sanford our growth could have very well stopped .They would have required almost all of the remaining permitted sewer capacity.  Since that time, the expansion planning process has begun. By the time a new industry would require such a large capacity, hopefully we would have plenty to offer.

If you have any questions concerning this issue or would like more information you may contact City Manager Hal Hegwer at 919-775-8201.