A crumbling, asbestos-cement sewer main under Huron Street East in St. Marys that caused two blockages discovered by the town early last week will require the excavation of that street and the replacement of a section of pipe spanning three blocks over the next six weeks .
The sewer situation underneath Huron Street East in St. Marys has gone from bad to worse.
After discovering two blockages early last week caused by degradation of an asbestos-cement sanitary sewer main that serves much of the town’s east end, staff learned this week the issue with the crumbling material is not as localized as originally thought. The problem actually extends three blocks from Elizabeth Street to Queen Street East.
“The pipe degradation is beyond any kind of in-situ remediation,” St. Marys public works director Jed Kelly said Wednesday after the town determined, through camera and visual inspections, that the three-block stretch of sewer pipe requires immediate replacement.
“We’ve actually been in contact with the City of Stratford. They’ve experienced this and they think it’s a byproduct of hydrogen sulfide gas (emitted by) human waste. Stratford actually reached out to us, so we’ve now got a lot of information on (the problem). … They’ve got a little bit of an older (sewer) system and they’ve done a bunch of work with this type of thing, so we’re starting to get the answers that we need.”
Contractors, who were pulled off the ongoing Wellington Street reconstruction project last week to complete the necessary emergency repairs, continue to work this week to address the second of the two original blockages under the Jones Street and Huron Street intersection. St. Marys is now planning a much larger excavation of Huron Street that will limit driveway access for residents in that area for at least six weeks, depending on weather.
Workers will be replacing the crumbling asbestos-cement sewer main with PVC piping, beginning with the section between Queen Street East and Jones Street East from May 4 to May 11 before moving to the section from Jones Street East to Elgin Street East, which is expected to be completed by May 27. The final stretch of replacement sewer, from Elgin Street East to Elizabeth Street, is expected to be in place by June 10, and that entire stretch of Huron Street East will then be reconstructed from June 13 to June 30 .
Sections of the watermain under Huron Street East will also need to be replaced as a result of the excavation, so temporary water connections will be established for properties between Jones and Elizabeth streets during construction. New water services will be installed to property lines in those areas once repairs are complete.
The town is asking residents along that section of Huron Street to park on side streets while their driveways are inaccessible. Anyone with mobility needs is being asked to contact the town for help if they need access to their driveway during that time.
Kelly and St. Marys asset management specialist Jeff Wolfe will present a full report on the emergency repairs, including the unbudgeted cost and the impact on this year’s Wellington Street reconstruction project, at an upcoming St. Marys council meeting.