Willis Road sewer pipe repair could cost Sumpter $50,000

By Paul W. Henning
At the Sumpter Township Board of Trustees’ regular meeting on Sept. 9, Department of Public Services Director Ron Tabor explained that it’s going to cost around $50,000 to fix a recent sewer pipe clog.
He said on Aug. 21, there was a clog in the pipe on Willis Road between Rawsonville and Lohr roads. When the crew started digging, workers found lots of sand and groundwater had fallen through to the pipe and had gotten into the two “dog houses” attached to the pipe.
He explained a “dog house” is like a room that provides access to either a water meter or valves.
Director Tabor said the incident eventually caused the ground to give way and collapse into a 25-foot hole.
The seals going from the pipe to the “dog house” were eroded by hydrogen gas that seeped into the pipe. Tabor said he thinks hydrogen was being created because of how deep the hole is. If a drop — a gas diffuser — is put in it should alleviate the problem, he said.
He said they had to go into eight different manholes to restore the integrity of the system. He said to fix the problem that ten manholes have, it will cost $5,000 per manhole.
In other business at the Sept. 9 meeting, the trustees:
• Approved hiring Gabriel Massel as full-time assistant to the clerk, which is also a floater position;
• Discussed hiring a second ordinance officer so that there would be an officer available on the weekends. They decided not to add an officer at this time because first another car needs to be procured for the second officer to drive;
• Approved the building report with no discussion;
• Heard the fire department report that in the month of August there were 128 calls: nine were fires, 98 medical rescue service, three hazardous conditions, three service calls, one good intent, and one false alarm;
• Approved the Michigan Association of Municipal Clerks ADA infrastructure grant;
• Approved sending Clerk Don Laporte and Deputy Clerk Samantha Herman to the Michigan Township Association’s Professional Development Training on Sept. 29 and 30, at a cost not to exceed $1,500; and
• Approved amending the Senior Alliance for the Aged agreement.