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February 9

Oakland sewer blockage snags district merger

OAKLAND -- Days away from linking the town's sewer collection system to Waterville's sewer district, town officials hit a snag.

Oakland Town Manager Peter Nielsen told the Town Council on Wednesday night that a 600-foot stretch of the main line had air blockages in four places.

A camera detected sags in the pipe where the air blockages were occurring, he said.

Woodard & Curran, an engineering firm from Portland, designed the main line to run about five miles from the Oakland treatment plant on Fairfield Street, underneath Messalonskee Stream, and eventually join Waterville's system at the intersection of Webb and West River roads.

The project was undertaken so that Oakland's treated waste water, which is dumped into an impounded portion of Messalonskee Stream, could be redirected to Waterville's sewage collection area.

The targeted cost for the three-year project was $6 million.

"At this point, there is nothing we can do in the field without outside sources," Nielsen said, adding the town had already spent about $5,000 trying to remedy the problem in recent days.

The council agreed to spend unused project money to make the system operational and to expedite a meeting with the principal parties, including Woodard & Curran, contractor Pratt & Sons, and the town attorney, to determine responsibility.

Councilor Mark Fisher said townspeople should not have to pay to get rid of the blockages.

Nielsen agreed. "The town bought something and it ought to work," he said.

Nielsen also said he contacted the Department of Environmental Protection because the town had missed the deadline to hook up with Waterville's district.

"I had great hope that we would finish on budget," Nielsen said. "Now that hope is thin."

Beth Staples -- 861-9252

bstaples@centralmaine.com

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