The Ellijay-Gilmer County Water and Sewerage Authority will begin work on two sewer repair projects — a short timeframe emergency repair and another more long-term project — later this year.
Rehab and repair of a sewer trunk line in downtown Ellijay is on the authority’s 2020-21 capital improvement project schedule. A $57,700 expense for engineering costs for that project was approved at the water and sewer board’s last meeting held June 29.
“We’re going to get the engineering started on it and put together a project and we’ll probably contract that out,” said Gary McVey, water authority director.
The approximately 4,200 linear feet of sewer line scheduled for repair extends from near the Amicalola Electric office on North Main Street, then crosses McCutchen Street and runs between the campuses of Ellijay and Clear Creek Elementary Schools before ending near the River Street bridge.
The sewer main has severe ground water infiltration issues and the pipe is sagging and misaligned in several places, partially due to improper installation and the high water table in the area, noted McVey.
“Some of the pipe is made of clay. It’s an older pipeline and it’s just not in very good shape. We chose that (area) to start some rehab with. A lot of ground water comes into the pipe and, as a result, we’re treating a lot of ground water we don’t want to be treating,” he added. “It’s a terra cotta pipe. A lot of the old sewer lines in the city of Eliijay are terra cotta. (Now they’re made of) PVC.”
Applying for federal funding for shovel-ready projects could be a possibility later this year and the water authority will explore any available funding when it becomes available, McVey noted.
Repair of another sewer trunk line off Industrial Boulevard near the Spring Plaza shopping center, is expected to be done this week.
McVey said excess storm water has eroded material around a manhole and caused piping on the discharge side of the manhole to sink, causing a misalignment in the sewer main. A blockage must be repaired to prevent the manhole from overflowing, he added.
“This one has been caused by extensive rainfall and the path that the water is taking toward that manhole. We’re going to have to rent some equipment due to the depth involved with it. We’d planned on doing it this week, but because it looks like bad weather will be moving in, it will probably be the first of next week before we start it. We’re hoping we’ll be able to get it done in a day or day and a half,” said McVey last week.
The repair work will have to be coordinated with Georgia Power because a power pole also damaged by storm water runoff needs to be replaced and moved before excavation can start, he added.
An emergency sewer repair expense not to exceed $15,000 was also approved at the water board’s June meeting.
In other news ...
﹣ McVey said none of the water authority’s current projects have been delayed by the continuing COVID-19 health crisis, but it has become more difficult to get some specialty parts needed for big repairs.
“The delay in getting parts we need can be a lot farther out now and it’s mainly specialty parts. We keep enough of our normal repair stuff on the shelf to where we can stand a long lead time if we have to. There were some parts for a blower we had rebuilt at the wastewater plant and normally you could get those parts in two weeks, but it took six to eight weeks for us to get them,” he noted.
﹣ As the health crisis continues, the water authority is still taking precautions related to reducing the amount of foot traffic at its office on Progress Road, McVey confirmed.
“We’re still asking people to give us exact change if they’re paying in cash and we’re only allowing one person in the lobby at a time. We’re opening (the lobby) at 10 a.m. mainly for contracts and we’re still trying to do most of our business at the drive-thru,” he added.