By VINCE SULLIVAN
vsullivan@delcotimes.com
@vincesullivan

An ordinance proposed by the Delaware County Regional Water Quality Control Authority that would require sewer lateral inspections before a home sale has drawn the ire of a local Realtor association.

The authority, known as DELCORA, suggested the ordinance be adopted by municipalities in the eastern part of the county to reduce the amount of stormwater infiltration into sanitary sewer lines. Infiltration and inflow of stormwater significantly increases the amount of water that has to be treated at various wastewater facilities, thereby increasing the costs levied by DELCORA. Environmental repercussions are also associated with an influx of stormwater.

“This is a huge problem for us in the county,” said DELCORA Executive Director Joseph Salvucci. “As an authority, we can’t make anybody do anything, but we can try to educate the elected officials and persuade them.”

DELCORA contracts with the Southwest Philadelphia water treatment plant to send as much as 50 million gallons per day of sewage to the plant, which has a capacity of 200 million gallons per day. Much of the waste water in eastern Delaware County is sent there through miles of force main. According to a 2010 study published by DELCORA, the authority estimated that as much of one-third of all waste water in the eastern half of the county is a result of infiltration and inflow. The study also estimates that this infiltration cost about $6.7 million to treat.

Infiltration occurs when stormwater enters the sewer system through damaged pipes, commonly through sewer laterals that connect homes to the sewer main in the street. Cracked and collapsed laterals are responsible for millions of gallons of infiltration in Delaware County. Inflow occurs from illegal sewer connections like sump pumps and roof drains. When rain storms pass through the area, millions of gallons of freshwater, which doesn’t have to be treated, enters the sewer system through these means and eventually must pass through a treatment plant, resulting in millions of dollars in unnecessary costs.

DELCORA began monitoring sewer flows in eastern Delaware through a metering program in 2004. Nearly 120 meters have been deployed in 21 municipalities in eastern Delaware County which provide daily updates on flow. In the hours following a rainstorm, these meters record significantly increased flow, indicating extensive stormwater infiltration into the sewer system.

The increased flow can also lead to sanitary sewer overflows, which result in backups of raw sewage into homes and streets. Hefty fines are associated with these backups from the Department of Environmental Protection.

To address the problems, DELCORA suggested municipalities adopt an ordinance that would require an inspection of sewer lateral pipes prior to a home sale. Robert Powell, DELCORA’s director of strategic planning and business development, said the proposal is a palatable response to a problem not many people realize exists.

“My house was built in 1947,” said Powell, an Upper Providence Township resident. “When do you think the last time my sewer lateral was looked at? Probably in 1947.”

Several municipalities, including Darby Township, Upland, Rose Valley and Concord, have already adopted similar ordinances. The Suburban Realtors Alliance, a Malvern-based organization that advocates for Realtors in Delaware, Chester, Montgomery and Bucks counties, sent a letter to DELCORA in June outlining its opposition to the push to adopt these new laws.

“We understand that this is a serious problem in southeastern Pennsylvania,” said Jamie Ridge, president and CEO of the alliance. “We sell about 1 to 2 percent of the homes in the communities of this region per year and at that rate, it will take as long as 60 years before all of the laterals in a given municipality are inspected.”

The point-of-sale approach is troubling to Realtors because it may also make it more difficult to sell a home. Repairs to a sewer lateral, depending on the type and extent of the damage, can cost thousands of dollars.

“In the economy that Realtors are battling with, this is something that will make it much more difficult to complete a home sale,” Ridge said.

Ridge cites Middletown Township’s cyclical sewer inspection program as an example of a successful approach to the problem of infiltration and inflow. He calls their program more “holistic” and said it will ensure all sewer laterals are inspected in a timely manner at regular intervals.

Powell and Salvucci say the proposal isn’t necessarily the fastest or most efficient way to eliminate the problems associated with infiltration and inflow, but it is the best way they could come up with to make inspections mandatory while also keeping them cost-effective.

“Most of the elected officials don’t think of sewer issues,” Salvucci said. “It’s our job to think about these things.”

Powell said the costs associated with a comprehensive sewer lateral inspection program could be astronomical, especially for the municipalities in eastern Delaware County with aging infrastructure.

“This was the most palatable solution to this problem,” Powell said.