Hot Summer Causes Sewer Lateral Problems in Maplewood

The summer of 2011 was tough on more than the lawns in Maplewood. Old sewer laterals took a beating too.

As a result, the City of Maplewood replaced more laterals than anticipated this year, prompting Maplewood City Council to authorize the city to spend $32,000 more on repairs.

Anthony Traxler, director of the , said it’s not unusual to have two on the list to be replaced, but the department replaced five this year. He blamed the hot, dry summer.

“Your soil gets dry, then it cracks and expands and shrinks,” Traxler said.

“These old clay laterals may be cracked and are ready to fall to pieces, but yet they’re still working,” he said. “You get some slight shifts and it causes them to break.” He said it's similar to when a water main breaks in the winter due to freezing tempuratures.

The average lateral repair is around $2,000, but Traxler said a couple were about $5,000. One was even more expensive than that.

“We had to put in an ejector system, which is highly unusual,” he said. “The lateral was essentially flat, and actually pitched back to the house. That house was 130 years old.”

Traxler said next year the city may only see a third of the problems experienced this summer, but he doesn’t want to come up short.

The city will receive additional sewer revenue funds in mid-December when residents and businesses start paying real estate tax bills.