by Holly Allen
The city of Valley Falls is asking businesses and residents on the north side of Broadway to limit water usage following the discovery of a sewer obstruction Friday night.
This issue affects properties between Sycamore Street and Oak Street, from Kendall Bank to Hopper Hair, including the following business addresses:
• 406 Broadway
• 408 Broadway
• 412 Broadway
• 416 Broadway
• 426 Broadway
• 500 Broadway
• 510 Broadway
It also affects residential addresses at:
• 508 Broadway
• 301 Walnut
• 303 Walnut
• 305 Walnut
• 307 Walnut
• 300 Sycamore
• 308 Sycamore
City workers were alerted to the issue by a resident around 9 p.m. who noticed a problem with the manhole at Broadway and Walnut Streets. The public works department worked until 4:30 a.m. Saturday to figure out a solution. They were able to slurry the plugged manhole and draw the blockage down several feet to give the affected addresses some head room to utilize the sewer. However, this will have to be done periodically, and is not a permanent fix.
Despite the recent completion of phase one of a multi-million dollar overhaul of the sewer system, it appears the 110-year old clay pipe under the city’s main street was not relined.
The engineering firm the city works with, Professional Engineering Consultants headquartered out of Wichita, inspected the work of the contractor, Havens Construction, Mo., and signed off on the project as completed earlier this year.
As of press time Monday, PEC and Havens were expected to arrive in short order to inspect the line and work toward a more permanent solution.
The sewer main in that area is 12 inches in diameter and around 20 to 25 feet below the street. The collapsed line, which has potentially failed most of the way between the manholes in front of the Delaware Township Hall, falls under a section of street which is still brick, and is expected to be expensive to fix.
Phase one of the sewer project was to have included replacement or refurbishment of the sewer system, lines, and manholes north of K-16 Highway. Valley Falls was awarded a $600,000 Community Block Development grant to help fund this part of the project.
The city has recently begun the process of applying for grants for phase two of the total $3.2 million project, which includes the same overhaul of the sewer south of the highway.
City Hall can be reached at 785-945-6612.
Covering the communities in Jefferson County, Kansas
