Sewer fix might not be as costly as expected

Published 2:00 pm Wednesday, July 17, 2002

A $100,000 repair job on a restaurant’s sewer line in Langley may not wind up being so expensive after all.

The line, which backed up into the China City restaurant on Cascade Avenue last year after decades of cooking grease clogged it, was thought to be a total tear-out job when it failed. Though it is a side sewer, a type of sewer line that is typically run on private property and is the responsibility of a property owner, this particular piece of pipe is in a city right of way, meaning that all city taxpayers are responsible for its repair.

So for the past year, Langley’s Public Works Department has been looking for any solution that might reduce the repair tab. Bringing the subject to the attention of the Langley City Council at a recent meeting, public works director Rick Hill said he might have that solution. Rather than rip the line out, the city will soon contract to intersect the line with four manholes.

It’s a low-cost option, Hill said, that will give the city a way to fix the problem without removing the entire sewer line. This was something he had hoped to do last year by using a remote probe and camera, but the line lacked a proper access point.

“We know there are problems with the line,” Hill said.

Once the manholes are in place, the city will be able to get to those problems. Hill said much of the line can repaired and unclogged from above ground.

One section of the sewer line will probably have to be replaced, but for far less than $100,000.

The sewer line also serves the Langley Motel and has the potential to serve other properties on Camano Avenue.