By
Roger Phelps
Eww, gross.
Possibly that phrase gets overused these days, except by Nickerson Street residents in Sutter Creek, who saw raw sewage rolling down their chic residential avenue Oct. 20.
"This is an ongoing situation," said resident Ron Pinelli. "I've been here 11 years, and this goes to before that."
It's only because the city's antiquated sewer lines are underground - invisible - that the system can't be called quaint. Just like quaint, the sewer system is old, reflective of the values and practices of a bygone era and not always compatible with modernity.
"The city has a lot of old sewer lines that were put in back in the early 1900s," said Sean Rabe, assistant city manager. "Those are made of terra cotta with grouting to connect them. The other problem is that they go directly under houses, which makes them basically impossible to replace or service."
The sewer system is an underground maze, according to City Manager Rob Duke. Moisture-seeking tree roots zero in on cracks in the terra cotta, he said.
"Lines went everywhere - through your neighbor's basement," Duke said. "It was not laid in a way you'd follow. For example, it has to jog when it comes to undulations in a property. A tree root senses moisture and actually moves the line."
Despite the fact that, according to Duke, Sutter Creek in recent times has budgeted $100,000 per year for sewer-line upgrades, the Nickerson Street pipes remain a problem.
Amador County environmental health officials visited the spill site and compiled an incident report. Mike Israel, department director, said the county wanted to find out what plans Sutter Creek had for fixing the problem line.
Duke said options are installing a pump or cutting a deeper trench for the line to take out "kinks." Repairs could cost around $20,000, he said.
Jocelyn Dunklee, county environmental health technician, said by the time of her visit, city crews had already cleaned up on Nickerson Street.
Pinelli said that was his doing.
"The city guy said, 'I'll be back to clean up in the morning,'" Pinelli said. "I said, 'No, you won't - you'll clean it up now. You can't just leave this stuff the way it is.'"
Israel said jurisdiction in the matter rests with the state's Regional Water Quality Control Board. The waterway of Sutter Creek flows through its namesake town.
Duke noted that in the old days, the city's hodgepodge of sewer pipes drained directly into the streambed.
The spill on Nickerson Street bears no relation to the city's pumping to its sewage-treatment plant of waste from the Martell commercial area, Duke said.
