Sewer Project to Leave Residents Without Sanitary Services

A new sewer pipe project in Trenton will likely cause between 6 and 16 houses at one time to be without water and sanitary services for up to eight hours.

Kelly Fedele, assistant city engineer, said residents will receive a notification of a loss of services from Inland Waters Pollution Control, Inc. at least 24 hours before services are turned off.

Workers plan to shut off services at houses throughout the city during the day, while many residents are at work according to Fedele.

The project began Monday and is slated to be completed before Thanksgiving.

Though a loss of services can be difficult for residents, the less evasive project could have been much worse on residents and nearby roads.

The Cured In Place Pipe or CIPP Project is a trenchless technology where the sanitary sewers that are showing signs of wear and cracking are repaired without
excavation according to Fedele.

Fedele said workers will install a resin liner into a sanitary sewer manhole and then pull it through the sanitary line and out another manhole, which keeps workers from having to dig down to the pipes.

Then, she added, steam is introduced into the liner allowing the liner to cure and mold to the shape of the pipe creating a new pipe within a pipe. 

Services must be shut off during the curing process and residents are asked to not wash clothes, do dishes, take showers, flush toilets or operate sump pumps connected to the sanitary sewer during the curing process.

Residents are also asked to fill floor drains with water on the morning of the operation to avoid odors.