Brownton looks to reconstruct failing storm sewers in 2016

The city of Brownton will not deviate from its plan to begin replacing and repairing storm sewer in 2016, the City Council decided by concensus at its Sept. 2 meeting.
At its August meeting, the Council heard from its maintenance department that about six blocks of storm sewer either had collapsed or was nearing collapse, and had asked its city engineer to review the issue.
John Rodeberg of Short Elliott Hendrickson (SEH), Inc., said Sept. 2 that the storm sewer is, indeed, “in really, really bad shape.”
Rodeberg said about six blocks of storm sewer are affected. Five of those are scheduled to be reconstructed in 2016, when the city intends to replace an expiring bond with a new one to fund infrastructure repairs.
“It’s just not feasible right now to repair all that storm line,” said Rodeberg.
But Rodeberg did acknowledge that waiting another two years “comes with some risk” that deteriorating storm sewer may cause issues.
If that occurs, the city may have to do “spot repairs” to tide it over until the larger reconstruction project in 2016.

For more, see the Sept. 10 print edition of The Chronicle.