By Carol P. Bartold, Senior Reporter                         

Nov. 15, 2017:  Village Administrator Jim Palmer reports that a multi-year project to survey and repair sanitary sewer lines in the village has resulted in 15 sewer main repairs to date and the upgrading of approximately 13,500 linear feet of primary sewer mains.

Green Mountain Pipeline Services, a company from Vermont, has inserted new cured-in-place pipes in the primary sewer mains. A method of rehabilitating existing pipes, curing in place alleviates the need for digging trenches to repair pipes. The method essentially creates a pipe inside existing pipes by fabricating a new jointless and seamless lining.

A resin-saturated felt tube, often made of polyester or fiberglass cloth, is pulled into the existing pipeline and cured in place using steam, ultraviolet light, or hot water. The cured-in-place pipes are designed to have a 50-year lifespan.

The pipeline rehabilitation project began in 2015 when the board of trustees authorized the inspection of sewer lines using a video camera inserted into the pipes. That process not only identified the aging pipes most in need of repair but also helped determine the extent of the repairs needed. Most of the deterioration was found in the form of cracks in clay pipes that run the length of Pondfield Road. The video inspection also revealed structural stresses such as the invasion of tree roots and build-up of sediments in the pipes.

In addition to the decay resulting from age and normal use, several human-created conditions were found to have contributed to pipe damage. Items foreign to the system, such as a bowling ball, utensils from local restaurants, and dog waste bags, were discovered during the video inspection process. Not only do such items damage sewer pipes, as Mayor Mary Marvin has explained, but dog waste bags introduce toxic and long-lasting bacteria into the village water system.

Within the one-mile-square Village of Bronxville, approximately 18.5 miles, or 97,000 linear feet, of sanitary sewer lines lie underground, part of a sewer collection system that is over one hundred years old and a vital element of the village’s infrastructure.

Sewer upgrades for the downtown business district and other commercial areas are in the design phase, according to Palmer. Construction in those areas is scheduled for 2018.

Pictured here:  Top two photos: The cured-in-place felt liner is being inserted down through the sewer manhole and into the sewer line, which runs underneath The Bronxville School and out to Pondfield. This is one section of a $1.4 million sewer lining contract awarded to Green Mountain Pipeline Services of South Royalton, VT, by the Village of Bronxville. Green Mountain specializes in this work and has performed similar lining projects throughout the county

Top two photos and photo caption courtesy Jim Palmer, village administrator, Village of Bronxville; second two photos by A. Warner.