PELL CITY — An engineer testified Wednesday the city should place a moratorium on sewer system hookups until its sewer infiltration and inflow problems are fixed.Gary Owen, a civil engineer for 38 years, said Pell City’s sewer treatment system has little, if any, capacity to treat additional raw sewage.
“The water system is basically at capacity,” he said.
Owen said he based his assumptions and recommendations for a moratorium on a review of city engineering reports.
Owen testified on behalf of the St. Clair County Homebuilders Association, which, along with Bucky Inc. and QCC Inc., filed a lawsuit against the city contesting the city’s adoption of an April 2007 ordinance establishing sewer impact and water capital recovery fees.
The group alleges the city does not have the authority to assess the fees without state legislative approval.
The group also says the fees are unconstitutional, injure builders, new homeowners and those seeking to locate to Pell City, and unfairly single out developers, who will foot the majority of the repair bills for the city’s aging sewer system.
Owen said his first priority is finding and fixing major leaks within a sewer system where there are serious inflow and infiltration issues.
During heavy rains, the Pell City sewer system has sewer overflows. The city was cited by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management for major sewer overflows, and has until 2012 to complete the necessary work to eliminate the overflows or face stiff fines.
Owen said he would recommend a moratorium on new sewer hookups because of the potential health hazards associated with sewer overflows and potential fines associated with this environmental violation.
He also voiced opposition to sewer impact and water capital recovery fees, saying rates and taxes should pay for city water and sewer system improvements.
“I’ve never seen a fair and equitable way to apply it (impact fees),” he said. “There are several ways to calculate impact fees, infinite ways based on the opinion of the computer.”
Owen said the inflow and infiltration problems with the city’s sewer system are because historically there has been a lack of maintenance. He said typically over time there is also deterioration of a system.
“Most of the time, infiltration occurs because a system has not been properly and adequately maintained,” Owen said.
Freddy Hazelwood, the department head for wastewater treatment and water treatment, testified Wednesday the city had about 30 sewer overflows last year, and between 50 and 60 overflows this year.
“We had less sewer overflow in 2007 due to dry weather,” he said.
Hazelwood also estimated 50 percent of the inflow/infiltration of rainwater into the city sewer systems comes from private waterlines on private property.
He testified there is infiltration of rainwater throughout the sewer system. The city has recently contracted work for smoke testing sewer lines in an effort to find where water is infiltrating the sewer system.
Hazelwood testified the city’s ordinance needs re-writing, to give city officials enforcement power when sewer customers need their private lines replaced or repaired.
“We have no way to control I&I (inflow and infiltration) on private property,” he said.
Also Wednesday, Penny Isbell, assistant city clerk for the city, testified funds collected so far from sewer impact and water capital recovery fees are in a separate bank account from other utility department revenues. The city has collected about $153,000 in sewer impact and water capital recovery fees since May 2007.
Several homebuilders took the stand Wednesday, including Joey Cooper of Lincoln, Buddy Bowman of Pell City and James Schornak of Ashville, president of the St. Clair County Homebuilders Association.
Cooper testified that most of his customers prefer city water rather than well water, and prefer their own septic tank system rather than tapping on to a municipal sewer system. However, in some cases, individual septic systems are prohibited.
Bowman, who does both residential and commercial developments, said he quit building in Pell City.
“I didn’t feel like it was feasible,” he said.
Both Cooper and Schornak said Pell City is not alone in charging sewer impact and water capital recovery fees.
“Lincoln charges impact fees,” Cooper said.
Councilman J.T. Carter, who served on the city’s infrastructure committee before being elected to the City Council in 2004, testified about the work and recommendations made by the infrastructure committee.
The trial is expected to resume today at 9 a.m. in Pell City, before Circuit Court Judge Jim Hill. At that time, other council members are expected to testify.
