Contractors, working with crews from Lexington’s Division of Water Quality, are scheduled to repair a sanitary sewer leak in the overnight hours of Tuesday, April 3, near the intersection of Star Shoot Parkway and Liberty Road.
During the day Tuesday, crews will prepare the site for repairs to the old North Elkhorn sewer force main that services four area pump stations. A force main is a sewer that is under pressure versus a sewer under the force of gravity or a gravity sewer.
Overnight Wednesday, those four pump stations will be shut down to facilitate repairs. Any wastewater that cannot be stored at the four pump stations will be pumped into tanker trucks and transported to the North Elkhorn pump station. The flow from this pump station will be directed to the Town Branch wastewater treatment plant throughout the repair process.
After repairs are completed overnight, the line will be checked for leaks and returned to service. The excavation will be filled on Wednesday if no leaks are discovered.
In the event of rain, the repair will be postponed for 24 hours.
Currently, wastewater in the force main is being pumped to a nearby gravity sewer line that leads to the North Elkhorn pump station. Any sewage leaking from the force main is being recaptured and pumped to the gravity line to minimize environmental impact.
The old force main, a 24 inch line, has a history of failures, including two in 2009 near the location of the current leak. Plans to permanently abandon the old force main have been completed with construction of the first phase to begin sometime in late 2012. Final abandonment of the old force main should be complete in late 2013. The old force main is approximately 10 feet below the surface of the road.