Fremont sewer halfway finished - Wayne-Wilson News Leader, Fremont, NC

30 August 2007 — While the ongoing sewer project has produced good results for the town, recent heavy rainfall showed the town just how far it still has to go.

Town Manager Kerry McDuffie said that at their last meeting with the engineers on the project, the report indicated that about 52 percent of the work has been completed.

Most point repairs, which are repairs made to specific cracks or leaks in the pipes, have been completed. The project still has quite a few other things remaining, however.

Currently, crews are working on slip lining pipes. This means that pipes that have been damaged are getting a plastic-type lining inside to prevent water from leaking in. Crews are also replacing lines that are too damaged to repair.

The town has seen huge improvements in the amount of water being sent to Goldsboro from Fremont, said Mr. McDuffie. Water levels are much closer to what is actually being sent out by citizens, indicating a decrease in inflow and infiltration of rainwater into the lines. However, because the summer has been so dry, the town has not had a chance to gauge how much improvement the repairs have done.

But this week, after the project has hit its halfway mark, the town experienced heavy rainfall on Sunday that showed how much work remains to be done. Mr. McDuffie said the town experienced a lot of inflow on Sunday evening through the lines that have not yet been repaired.

“But you have to remember that was a tremendous amount of rain in a short period of time,” he added.

The project is still slated to be finished around November, he said.

In addition to making repairs to the town’s sewer lines, the town has also been exploring the option of using land application technology to decrease or eliminate the need to send sewer water to Goldsboro for treatment. Before the town sent its wastewater to Goldsboro, it operated a spray field, and the town has hired engineers to explore the possibility of reverting to this system.

A spray field would involve applying wastewater to a large area of land, rathern than pumping it out of town. The option could either be used as a backup when town lagoons reach capacity, or be used as the primary means of dealing with wastewater.

The engineers finished surveying the land earlier this month, and are currently compiling a report to present to the town about the feasibility of the option. Mr. McDuffie said in a recent town board meeting that he had high hopes for the project, but that the town must examine how cost effective it will be to re-outfit the old spray field.

And as for the debt both Fremont and Eureka, which pumps water to Goldsboro via Fremont, have incurred because of infiltration problems, Mr. McDuffie said that both towns hope to see a solution soon. The towns met with the local government commission earlier this month to discuss options, and the town of Eureka will decide on a course of action at their September meeting.

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