Devola's Sewer System Is Going To Be Pretty Neat

MARIETTA, OH — Devola residents are likely going to be getting a sewer system installed. Many are unhappy about this. The Washington County Commissioners aren't crazy about the idea, but their hands are tied. However there is a silver lining, they will be getting a state-of-the-art, top-notch sewer. It's called a pressurized sewer system.

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Commissioner Kevin Ritter has been working on this for some time and having become something of an authority on sewage systems, he explained what this means. He said most sewer systems are gravity-fed. Meaning the pipes are built at angles and degrees so that the sewage is directed by gravity down to the treatment plant. This technology goes all the way back to the Roman Empire. “It’s literally what it sounds like, you build on a slope, gravity takes the effluent from uphill to downhill.”

There are some drawbacks to this ancient system. “You have to build much deeper because you have to have that slope.” The rule of thumb in engineering is every foot you dig down requires you to dig two feet of width. “So if I’m digging a hole that’s ten feet deep, I’m opening a hole that’s 20-feet wide.” Ritter says a system like that going in would be ripping up streets, driveways, and backyards. “It’s a very invasive project in that sense.”

Ritter says this is going to be much better for everyone. “What pressurized does is it’s only about 36-inches below the ground. It doesn’t need a slope.” He says it’s actually less expensive to do it this way because there’s no repair to roads.

Ritter says the only reason that folks keep installing gravity-fed sewage systems is because that’s how it’s always been done. “So you have a newer technology, but most people aren’t familiar.”

He says another big problem with gravity systems is that over time the ground shifts and it lets rainwater into the pipes. “That’s called INI. So now you’re not just paying to treat the sewage, but the rainwater as well.” This causes high treatment costs. “With a pressurized system, those pipes don’t separate, now you’re only treating effluent.”

Ritter says there's a number of benefits to having a pressurized system. He says with the gravity system you’re operating in straight lines with straight angles, but with pressurized it’s much easier to go around corners.

Commissioner James Booth pointed out that the pressurized system has to be completely sealed. “There’s also a [dangerous] chemical, H2S, hydrogen sulfide. So this pressurized system keeps the effluent moving so it doesn’t have time to sit and create that chemical.” In other words, pressurized sewer systems are also safer.

Ritter says people thought they were nuts for going with this system. “A lot of folks said you guys are crazy, everyone does gravity. Well, you’re right, for the last 2,000 years we’ve done it the same way. But there’s a new technology.”

With this new technology, pressure will be created by individual pumps at each individual house. Ritter says another thing he likes about this system is it incorporates an element of personal responsibility that gravity systems don’t. “With a gravity system, maybe she’s not a responsible homeowner. Maybe she’s throwing old shirts and rags and shoes into her toilet and that plugs up the system.” In that case, the county would know they have a plugged-up system, but no idea where the problem came from. “With a pressurized system if you plug up your pump, we’re coming to your house, and you’re getting charged for it.”

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