Unless there is an imminent danger or a sewer backup, the first phase of repairing sinkholes will be bid out by the end of October 2021 with bids due in early November. The second phase will be bid out the third week of November with bids due in December 2021. The selected contractors are anticipated to begin this sewer repair work in January 2022 with completion in April of 2022 (weather permitting). The city does not have an in-house crew to perform sewer repairs.

Sewer back-ups — remediating a sinkhole requires open excavation to repair the sewer lead. However, the sewer lead from the house to the city sewer line behind the garage is approximately 50 feet long and often runs under the garage floor. It is important to know if there is an additional location beyond the sinkhole location, that location will also require open excavation. The sewer blockage under the garage floor may require rerouting of the sewer lead if the blockage under the garage is not cleared with simple flushing. Therefore, property owners experiencing a sewer backup must contact a plumber to snake out the sewer lead and submit a report to the Engineering Division so that they may review field conditions and make the appropriate decisions about how to best correct the problem.

For affected property owners, seven days advance notification prior to the sewer repair will be provided.