Sewer Siphon Repair is Completed

WAITSBURG – Waitsburg's city council no doubt let a collective sigh of relief when relining of the leaking sewer siphon near the Touchet River Bridge went off without a hitch. The pipe burst project was completed on Tues., Nov. 14.

In September, council members authorized city manager Randy Hinchliffe to secure a $750,000 line of credit, at 3.7% interest, through Community Bank, to be used for infrastructure repairs and updates. The repair to the leaking siphon was estimated to cost $50,000 if a pipe bursting method could be employed.

The additional funds were to serve as a reserve in the case of an emergency. If the pipe burst process failed and broke away from the line, sewage could leak into the river, causing an emergency situation that would take hundreds of thousands of dollars to repair.

At October's council meeting Hinchliffe told the council that there had been a change in the estimate. The city had assumed, since both sides of the siphon were clay, the siphon itself would also be clay. Instead, they learned that the siphon was actually made of cast iron on one end and steel on the other.

The contractor, POW Contracting of Pasco, found a bit that would cut through the steel and was able to move forward with the project at an increased cost of $75,000.

"It was a great project that went way better than I expected. Well worth the cost versus the alternative. This will end up repairing the final, and most important, section of that sewer line and should result in few backups along that main line," Hinchliffe said.

Hinchliffe said the council has "agreed in principle" to use the remaining funds for water meter replacement and the Taggart-Dewitt water line. "Should costs come in low, we will discuss how to use any leftover funds at a later date," he said.