Special assessments could help many residents
currently on septic systems connect to lines
By:Rebecca Weltmann
Since moving to Hiland Street in 1993, Tom Irwin has had to deal with the gamble that comes with owning a house on a septic tank system.
Several years ago, that gamble nearly cost him his drain fields when tree roots crushed the concrete surrounding the septic tank and cost him approximately $4,000 in repairs.
Luckily for him, he said, the drain fields were OK, adding that the fields can cost anywhere from $35,000 to $45,000 to repair and in the end, you still have a septic.
For the past few years, Mr. Irwin has worked closely with his neighbors to find a way to rid their homes of the problems that come with owning a house on septic tank systems. They have sought hard to find a solution that would allow them to connect their homes with problem-plagued septic tanks to the public sewer system. Last Tuesday, the group finally started to see the fruits of their labor.
The Township Committee voted on Dec. 19 to approve an ordinance appropriating $50,000 in capital funds for the preliminary costs for the study of sewer line extensions and sewer line extension special assessments.
The immediate neighborhoods affected by the new ordinance will be the River View Terrace and Hiland Drive areas. Currently, upper parts of River View Terrace are already connected to public sewer lines, but the majority of the road and Hiland Drive are not.
Upon completion of the study, the township plans to issue bonds or notes to finance the cost of the sewer extension, and the money would be repaid through special homeowner’s assessments on the newly connected homes.
Township Administrator Kevin Davis said this is the first time the township would use special assessments, but it is the most cost-effective way to go about connecting the approximately 30 homes currently with septic tanks to the public sewer system.
At this point, he added, officials wouldn’t know how much it would cost per home to connect to the sewer system, but the study should make that figure available. Before any kind of construction can commence, though, several things need to happen.
"We need to have an engineering plan in place and develop bid specifications so we can award the construction contract to a reputable contractor with the lowest price," Mr. Davis said. "Within the next couple of weeks, homeowners should be receiving their special assessment contracts in which they’ll agree to repay (the assessments) over a period of time."
The special assessment, he added, would be a separate payment from regular property taxes but would be paid by those homeowners who agree to the assessment. In the contract, it will outline price ranges and the contracts can be held until after the study when an estimate of an exact price can be determined.
Those who wish to remain on septic tank systems will not have to worry about paying the special homeowner’s assessment.
Despite of the costly process of connecting to the public sewer system, Mr. Irwin said he and many of his neighbors are excited about the prospect of ridding themselves of the untrustworthy septic tanks.
"Thirty-two of the homes in my neighborhood are septic," Mr. Irwin said. "Over the past three or four years, as homes have gone through the sales process, we’ve been seeing more and more septic tanks being tested and flagged with problems. A few have been replaced over the last couple of years, but the bottom line is there’s just no guarantee that the system will last."
Other issues surrounding the septic tanks are the concern to public health and the effect septic tanks have on the environment.
According to Gary Nucera, executive director of the Municipal Utilities Association, having homes connected to the public sewer lines will be significantly better for the environment.
"Sewage from septic tanks gets pumped into the ground where it’s filtered," Mr. Nucera said. "With a sewer system, everything is done by piping and is eventually conveyed into treatment facilities where waste is treated and disposed of. It’s treated there with much higher standards than a septic tank calls for."
He added the project at this time doesn’t involve the MUA until engineering plans are completed. Mr. Davis said he hopes construction can begin as early as the spring of 2007. The whole project, he added, will cost approximately $500,000 but will not know the exact figures until the engineering plans are complete.
They do know, however, that the bulk of the project costs will come from the actual work done on the roads, including repaving the road once construction is complete. Mr. Nucera said connecting the homes to the sewer system would be relatively easy.
For Mr. Irwin and his neighbors counting on the construction, it would be well worth the wait.
"The township has been great," he said. "People, over the last five or 10 years, have gone to town meetings to ask about the chances of getting hooked up to sewer lines, and we were told there was no chance. This group in office now is willing to bring in the right people to talk to us and look at our objectives to see it’s a good thing and give us a chance."

