Oct. 16, 2002 – Public Works last week completed repairs to pipelines in Golden Rock that ruptured in August, fouling area residents' yards with raw sewage. And according to a statement from Commissioner Wayne Callwood, the department is now cleaning the area in preparation for resurfacing the roadway.
More than 500 feet of concrete sewer line – from the LBJ housing community to Harbor View Apartments – was replaced with 12-inch pipe, which is twice the diameter of the deteriorated 30-year-old pipes there before.
On Aug. 31, the aging lines backed up and erupted with force so strong they tore holes into the roadway, flooding the streets with wastewater.
Robert Moorehead, Public Works assistant commissioner, said then that the pipes were too small to handle the volume of wastewater pumped through them. He said the construction of several nearby condominiums and hotels over the years, which also tapped into that sewer system, was too much pressure for the pipes to hold.
Janet Muckle's home sits directly across from where the pipes burst last time, but for years, she said, the smell of sewage was not uncommon in the neighborhood.
"I just paid my last doctor bill for the migraines I got from the smell," she said, adding that she suspects her cistern is contaminated from wastewater seeping into it.
Even so, she is grateful for the repairs. When asked how the situation has improved, her only reply: "It's fantastic – fantastic."
Muckle said Public Works also removed a manhole near the front door of her home, and there have been no sewage problems since the repairs.
Funding problems caused the delay in pipe replacement. The repair contract cost almost $100,000, Moorehead said. "But, that's the price you pay. It's the type of job no one wants to take on."
He added that the manholes are fixed and repaving the roadway will begin as soon as the weather permits. "I think by next week the whole area will be restored."
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