RICHMOND—The City of Bedford has agreed to spend $100,000 on sewer line upgrades in response to a number of sewage spills during heavy rainstorms.
The agreement with the Department of Environmental Quality was approved Thursday during the State Water Control Board meeting. It is the second agreement the city has signed with the state for the same problem.
City Manager Charles Kolakowski said the problem is an ongoing issue and is related to aging infrastructure and old engineering practices, which send large amounts of rainwater into the sewer system during storms.
“It’s an old system and this is a common problem with older sewer systems,” he said. “The city’s been accumulating funds to address the issue. In fact, we’re in the process of receiving a grant to help us address the situation.”
The most recent problems were documented last year, when the city reported nine sewage overflows from three sites. One overflow was related to a grease accumulation in pipes near a manhole, the agreement said. Others were related to too much water coming into the pipes, including downspouts and sump pumps connected to the sewer system and groundwater coming into the pipes, Kolakowski said.
The agreement says the city will replace a number of sewer lines and examine other pipes to see where the water comes from.
“It’s going to take a lot of money over the years to address (problems),” Kolakowski said. “We hope to make some significant steps in the next couple of months.”
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