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The buck stops here, there on sewer lines
By ANNE LINDBERG © St. Petersburg Times, published November 26, 2000 PINELLAS PARK -- For more than a year, Lester Slone has been caught between two governments in his quest to have the clogged sewer lines in his neighborhood repaired. The city would clear the lines but said he needed to look to the Pinellas Park Water Management District for a permanent fix. The problems originated with the district, city officials said. The district told him to call the city because the sewer lines belong to Pinellas Park. Finally, the city told him that the district was suing the contractor that caused the problems. Once that lawsuit was resolved, city officials said, maybe something could be done. "I feel like a big basketball" getting bounced back and forth between the city and the water district, Slone told Pinellas Park council members Tuesday night. In the meantime, he said, the lines keep clogging. "When it clogs, folks ... guess where it goes. In your tub, first," Slone said. "I've had it back up into my house." "I think you've waited long enough," Pinellas Park Mayor Bill Mischler said. "Sewer gases are kind of wicked." Council member Ed Taylor said he'd support any measure to resolve the problem Slone and his neighbors are facing. "If Water Management tells you tomorrow, that's a year from now at best," Taylor said. They told city staff members to come up with a solution. Slone's predicament began a year or two ago after the water management district hired a contractor to build a drainage ditch in Slone's neighborhood, near the 8400 block of 52nd Lane N. During ditch construction, some of the soil supporting the sewer line was removed. The pipeline eventually buckled. Rather than running straight downhill, the line now undulates and clogs easily, said Bill LeVan, the city's sewer director. If the city replaces the line, LeVan said, it would have to be replaced again when the ditch is repaired. Hence, city officials have been slow to seek a permanent solution. Council members disliked that explanation. If a way cannot be found to bypass the portion of the line that's prone to clog, then a new line might be the best thing. In that case, the city likely would have to sue the ditch contractor to recoup the expenditure. They asked LeVan to come up with a solution and some cost estimates.
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From the Times South Pinellas desks |
