Supervisor questions sewer work information

Hartfield District Supervisor Bill Harris had several questions about the plan for how sewer could be deployed in Deltaville and he aired those questions during Middlesex County supervisors’ Aug. 27 work session. “The wool is being pulled over our eyes,” said Bill Harris.

Bill Harris was employed for more than 30 years with the James City Service Authority for water and sewer utilities, including 20 years in administration as the wastewater superintendent. He has training in a variety of mechanical and technological fields. He was chosen by the board in December 2023 to replace John Koontz, who moved from the Hartfield District and could not remain on the board.

Among Bill Harris’ top concerns were that financial figures and estimates that are outdated, and he questioned several things in the report by Timmons Group given to the board on Aug. 6, 2024.

The county has partnered with Hampton Roads Sanitation District (HRSD) to install sewer in areas of Middlesex. HRSD will only operate a “vacuum” collection system, which is expensive to install. To reduce costs a county sewer advisory committee determined that low pressure systems would save the county money because the homeowner would be required to buy and install a grinder pump at a cost of over $5,000 each, not including installation.

(Both HRSD and Middlesex have put the sewer project on hold after bids for HRSD’s 17-mile main pipeline were 80% above estimated costs.)

Grinder pumps

Bill Harris read aloud part of the Timmons report, “Typical operation and maintenance costs for a low pressure system is significantly less than a comparable gravity/lift station or vacuum system.”

Bill Harris reacted, “It sure is! The homeowner is taking care of a lot. With a vacuum system HRSD will take care of it for us. We wouldn’t have to have the people on call and we wouldn’t have to have crews. HRSD would handle it; but HRSD is not going to mess with grinder pumps, they are not going to take over the system. There’s a reason for that.”

Bill Harris said grinder pumps are a good alternative in some places.

He noted that grinder pumps require electricity to operate and if the 70 gallon tank is nearly full before a power outage, there could be problems because the tank cannot be emptied. Power outages were not addressed in the Timmons report. “Has a (home) generator been sized for a one horsepower motor? Probably not.”

He also noted that wastewater left in the tank for days will turn septic. “It’s going to stink,” Harris noted.

“Apples to apples”

Bill Harris said Timmons’ comparing James City County (JCC) to the Deltaville area is not comparing “apples to apples,” because the James City County grinder pumps are spread out in houses all over the county, and are not in one area feeding into one forced main as would be the case in Deltaville. “We’re being mislead. “The wool is being pulled over our eyes.”

The Timmons report states that White Stone had about 200 grinder pump stations installed in 2019-2020; and is planning…