Finance Committee - 12/02/2020 Page 10
So knowing that we have these very old water pipes, sewer pipes and so on, I’m glad to see that the City is
really looking at these and doing the best they can as Mr. Hudson pointed out to line them before they become
so old that they’ve got to get replaced and costing so much more money. So thank you for this work and | do
appreciate it.
Mayor Donchess
Alderman Lopez?
Alderman Lopez
If a pipe were to be removed and then replaced, what do we do with it? Do we just stick it in the landfill, do we
recycle it?
Mr. Hudson
That’s a good question. The contractors are required to dig it up and dispose of it. So yeah they do landfill
materials that they excavate.
Alderman Lopez
So we can’t run it down to the metal shop and get some money for it.
Mr. Hudson
A lot of time it’s clay pipe, | mean we have some asbestos pipe, so that’s the most unfortunate kind we dig up.
But it’s a mixture of deteriorated concrete. Lots of time you go to dig it and, you know, it kind of disappears on
you as you are trying to dig it because it’s so fragile. So it is a mix, | did want to, you know, you folks talked
about, you know, finding the pipes before we have to dig them up, | mentioned that it’s more costly, it’s
anywhere of 10 to 20 times more costly to dig up a pipe and replace it than it is to line it. So it’s a good
program and we appreciate the support.
Alderman Lopez
Thank you.
Mayor Donchess
Alderman O’Brien.
Alderman O’Brien
Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Mr. Hudson, eventually we are going to have to cross the bridge to look at the
combination system that we have. What do you see as the timeframe to do that, to go to a complete separate
drain versus sewer system, particularly for the — we are talking about the downtown, the older system in the
City.
Mr. Hudson
Well that’s a great question, there’s a lot of factors. One of them is coordinating with our regulatory agencies.
We have a lot of permits through the EPA and DES and you know, some of that’s going to be a negotiation
with them in terms of exactly what we’ve got to do and on what timeline. | would hope that it would be a longer
term thing; it is challenging and it’s expensive. Manchester undertook a huge effort and it’s hundreds of
millions of dollars a year to try to do that type of thing. So it'll happen over time, | am hoping it’s not an urgent
thing because it is going to be a huge undertaking. But it will depend on a lot of factors.
