by Dennis Dalman
editor@thenewsleaders.com
The Sartell City Council has authorized up to $90,000 to fix a problematic sewer pipe problem in the city.
A force-main sewer line cracked open on County Road 1 near a lift station near the Mississippi River at about 8 a.m. Tuesday, March 1, and it took workers all day to fix.
Once again, a force-main sewer line broke and leaked in Sartell, the same line that broke before. Sartell Engineer Mike Nielson told the council that same line has been repaired twice in recent years.
Nielson said the plans are to connect two 18-inch sewer pipes at that site as a kind of bypass. The other pipe is already there and was installed in anticipation of more sanitary sewer service in the future.
If there is another pipeline break in the future, the second and connected pipe could act as a bypass for contents of the damaged pipe, making any needed repair infinitely easier to do without a more unpleasant mess or any sewage running into the river, as has happened before.
With the bypass, workers can plan ahead for the repair and line up trucks that can haul the untreated sewage for treatment at the St. Cloud plant.
