Montgomery County

$1.8 Million in Sewer Inspections to Begin in Cheltenham Neighborhoods

The long-discussed first phase to an eventual township-wide evaluation of the sewer system will begin in the Village and Glenside sections.

Cheltenham has approved two contracts for inspections of public and private sewer lines, which will be evaluated for problems with pipes that in many cases date back 90 to 100 years.

The inspections will take place in the neighborhoods of Cheltenham Village and Glenside. Eventually, township officials said, more contracts will expand the inspections to other sections of the township. The first two neighborhoods have long been planned as the first to be inspected, based on the age of private laterals and public mains in those areas.

Township Council approved Tri-State Grouting for $1.3 million in the inspections and evaluation of Glenside and Pipe Services Corporation for $575,000 for work in Cheltenham Village.

Township Manager Bryan Havir said Tuesday that the contractors will use cameras to inspect the pipes and mains in an effort to collect data for an evaluation of the extent of the problem with the sewer system.

In the Village, inspectors will look at 26,000 feet of public sewer pipe and 215 manholes, along with 700 laterals. In Glenside, they will examine nearly 60,000 feet in the public space, 300 manholes and 1,300 laterals.

Property owners will not be notified, Havir said, as the work will be done from the public right-of-way and the cameras will only view a portion of private laterals.

"The idea is we need to see what level, how significant, the lateral issue is," Havir said.

No recommendations to property owners will be made by contractors during the initial phase.

The work is scheduled to begin within the next couple weeks and be completed by May 25 in Cheltenham Village. In Glenside, the work will begin in the spring and be completed by Dec. 6, 2016.

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