Ephrata council approves resolution to repair sewer line

EPHRATA — During the Feb. 21 Ephrata City Council meeting, Ephrata Public Works Director Rob Harris shared with the council the source of the Division Street sewer line failure that occurred on the Northeast side of Ephrata last week.

“We found that the original repair had failed,” Harris said.

Upon notification of the issues with the sewer between J and K Streets Northeast, Harris said city crews attempted to rod the line several times to clear it but only pulled back rocks and dirt, meaning the line had collapsed. He said the same section that collapsed was repaired only two years ago, so the original repair is determined to have failed.

City staff decided it was necessary to replace the affected section of sewer pipe from manhole to manhole, which is about 347 feet of pipe, Harris said. The decision was made due to the failure and the condition of the pipe they found in the process of troubleshooting the issue.

In the manhole-to-manhole replacement, Harris said they also have already found anomalies in the sizing of the pipes as they’ve dug.

“We’ve now seen three size changes in the pipe,” Harris said. “Ten inch to eight inch and now we’re back to ten inch.”

The repair is expected to be completed by the middle of next week.

The council voted unanimously to pass Resolution 24-01 which declared the sewer line failure an emergency so the city could secure a contractor to fix the failure immediately.

Rebecca Pettingill is a freelance writer and photographer based in Ephrata.

    Ephrata City Council members listen as Public Works Director Rob Harris explains the cause of the Division Street sewer line failure at the council's Feb. 21 meeting.