With certain areas of Scarsdale experiencing an increase in severe storms leading to flooding and a growing tendency to back up sewers and storm drains, the village board announced in a working session on 18 October that a number of solutions were available. We discussed one potential solution from or considered. With a few exceptions, the head of the Department of Public Works, Jeff Coleman, said that when homeowners go to sell their homes and when homeowners sell their homes, sewage pump connections are corded off. We talked about being certified as compliant with. Homeowner has over $100,000 in renovations.
Village manager Robert Cole said it was “a key strategy in our overall effort to mitigate these impacts,” adding that it “has a meaningful impact but avoids situations like those people have experienced in the past.” It does not preclude .” In other words, this is a piece of the puzzle, not a complete solution.
Coleman estimates that 300 to 350 homes are sold annually, with another 100 to 130 undergoing $100,000 renovations. “We’re not going to solve the problem overnight,” he said.
Trustee Jonathan Lewis called it “pretty fast”.
The Infrastructure, Municipal Services and Sustainability Pillar Commission, consisting of Deputy Mayor Randy Whitestone, Lewis, and Trustee Ken Mather, met with village staff over the summer. Whitestone called stormwater management: member. He called Coleman’s presentation, which follows “his one proposed step in an ongoing discussion,” to address “long-term issues.”
Coleman said the village spent “a lot of money” examining the local sewer system, conducting smoke tests to identify blockages and poor connections, and making necessary repairs.
“Many of the Scarsdale homes are very old, and the sewers that connect the homes to the mains are just as old,” Coleman said. “Some are very well maintained and some have not been maintained to the extent that they have worked over the years and I don’t think there is any reason for people to call a plumber and do something. increase.”
Like other municipalities that have laws on connectivity, the village is considering its options. Everything is allowed and allowed, in and out of the house,” Coleman said.
Coleman said this is part of the solution to having a sewer system that “works well and has no backups, backflows, surcharges, problems” and avoids sewage entering the sewer and storm water entering the storm system. said it would be
Coleman said a plumber or expert will certify that all connections are in compliance with the rules, and the village will certify those results.
Trustee Karen Brew asked what was required to drain a legal sewage pump. Coleman said the system must be properly buried on site so that water can “recharge the soil” or drain the system. In rare cases, those with less flooding may be released into the grass. Some sump pumps are illegally flushed into the sewage system.
If the water is not drained properly, “there will be more water than the sewers can handle,” Coleman said, adding that the village “does its best to keep the public out of it, but the private sector is doing its best.” We have to do a lot on the side,” he said.
“The easiest way to think of it is that the sewage system is a collection of relatively small pipes,” Coleman said. When you look at a storm drain, you’re usually looking at 12″ or 18″, much larger. Designed to carry rainwater The sewage system is designed to carry only sanitary sewage and more water.”
Lewis said it was all “about the health and hygiene of people’s homes.” He called sewage backup “bad public policy and bad for public health.”
Brew said there was “a general concern about the burden placed on many homeowners” who may have purchased homes with illegally installed systems. Whether you’re aware of it or not, it said that illegal hookups are “rampant in Scarsdale.”
“I think it’s worth noting that the burden of remediation has already been placed on homes where the condition exists. If asked to do so in the context of a Major Refurbishment Code compliant issue, it must be identified by our building inspection staff “whether or not this law exists”, Cole said property owners need to improve their situation. He also points out that large-scale reconstruction projects require homeowners to bring their systems up to code and that village inspection teams “look for illegal connections to the sewage system and correct them.” added a checklist item for
Some trustees have pointed out that the same has been true for underground oil tanks, asbestos and radon over the years.
“The practice of doing this sort of thing has evolved over time and, in theory, can help improve the overall quality of the housing stock in terms of code compliance and safety. [occupants] …and impact the environment,” Cole said. “This is not an easy problem and it ends up costing people money. [when] they transfer property.
Brew said construction laws also need to be considered, saying that many of the water problems in the village are “very rocky soils with no land to absorb water, and we are very built”. Yet everywhere we look there is still building and construction going on and the property footprint is getting bigger. “It looks like you can fry bigger fish here.”
The village will investigate how other communities are handling this issue and will continue the discussion in future work sessions.
