Laterals 101: Your part in keeping Lake Erie clean

Avon Lake breaks ground on another sewer separation this month, this time in the Belmar/Troy area. But, what does that even mean? Should it matter to the average resident? Well, if you care about keeping Lake Erie clean, it should. If your home was built before 1972 and/or you got a letter from us at Avon Lake Municipal Utilities this past January/February, this article is for you. 

Separating Avon Lake sewers. In the last few decades, Avon Lake Municipal Utilities has been separating Avon Lake’s sewers, updating Avon Lake’s 17 original “combined sewer” neighborhoods into “separated sewer” neighborhoods. Why? To keep untreated wastewater from discharging into Lake Erie during rain events and to reduce basement backups. Disgusting, right? (Keep reading for more on why that happens.) Twelve of these 17 neighborhoods’ separations are complete. The last five will be finished by 2020, starting with the neighborhood that centers around Belmar Boulevard. Residents on Belmar, Ashwood, Artsdale, Curtis, Mooreland and parts of Redwood and Electric are included in this separation. Construction on the first part of the project, the Redwood water line reconstruction, breaks ground this month.

Residents of all 17 neighborhoods* should call us at 440-933-6226 to schedule an inspection to try to determine their home’s compliance with new requirements designed to help keep Lake Erie cleaner now and in the future. But before we talk about those requirements, let’s take a quick look at how sewers work, what a “lateral” actually is, and how laterals and separated sewers will help keep Lake Erie cleaner.

My dirty water goes WHERE? As in most cities across the U.S., when Avon Lake sewers were first built, protecting natural resources like Lake Erie was not a priority. The first sewers in Avon Lake were built in the 1960s and early 1970s, when combined sewers were standard practice. Homes on combined sewers were built with one “lateral,” a drain that transports all the water from that home to the sewer under the street. In combined sewer neighborhoods, this single lateral takes both clean water (like rain water from foundation drains and downspouts) and dirty water (from sinks, toilets and showers) to the combined sewer line. The problem with these old combined sewer lines is, upon reaching full capacity, they were designed to jettison their contents (rain water and raw sewage) into Lake Erie rather than push it into basements. Unfortunately, this mechanism is triggered during many rainstorms.

The U.S. Clean Water Act saves Lake Erie. It wasn’t until waterways started catching fire and fish kills littered U.S. beaches that the Clean Water Act was created and passed into law. This 1972 legislation helped make separated sewers the new standard in housing construction. Since then, all Avon Lake homes have been built with two laterals running to separate sewers. (Separated sewer neighborhoods have two sewers running under each street instead of one. One takes all the homes’ wastewater to the treatment plant to be cleaned, the other takes all the storm water from foundation drains, downspouts and roadside storm drains to Lake Erie.)

Your part in keeping Lake Erie clean. So, now that you’ve got the background, here’s what every home in Avon Lake is required to do: Make sure the clean and dirty water coming from your home is separated. Most folks will make this adjustment by adding a lateral. Even if your sewer separation happened years ago, if your home was built before 1972, call Avon Lake Municipal Utilities at 440-933-6226 for an inspection. We’ll come out and get you on the road to compliance. If your home is on a slab and/or you’ve had sewer work done in the last five to seven years, you may already be in compliance. However, some homes’ records are incomplete or nonexistent. If this is the case for your home, you may need to hire a contractor to put a video camera into your home’s existing lateral to see where your water is going. Note: In all previous sewer separations, Avon Lake Municipal Utilities suggested, but did not require, residents to install their own laterals. Unfortunately, the rainstorms of the last few years have shown status quo will not be enough; all formerly combined sewer homes now need to reroute water from their foundation drains (and any other remaining clean-water sources) out of the sanitary sewer.

If it turns out your water still needs to be separated, here’s what’s next for you.

Next steps. After you’ve gotten your inspection from us, if you’re not doing the job yourself, call a contractor. (Find a list of the contractors who attended our briefing at http://alwtr.us/contractorlist.) Depending on each home’s unique situation, some homeowners will install a new lateral, others will choose to re-route their clean-water sources to their yards. If you are building a new lateral, the no-cost rehab permit you/your contractor applies for from Avon Lake Municipal Utilities will be the cue for our construction partner to connect your new lateral to the newly separated sewer—or, for us to be on hand if your contractor does. No matter what, ALMU is available to you throughout the process. Don’t hesitate to call us at any time, for any reason. Here's a look at the places across Avon Lake we're talking about, and when they'll need to have their water separated and connected to the appropriate sewers.

Still-to-be-separated neighborhoods
Belmar basin Belmar Boulevard, Ashwood, Mooreland, Lake (2 homes), Artsdale, Redwood, Electric; Construction: 7/2013-Fall 2014; Connection deadline: 2/2018

Moorewood Moorewood, Crestwood, Vinewood, Parkwood, Beachwood, Rosewood; Construction TBD-2016; Connection deadline: 2/2018

Avondale Avondale; Construction TBD-2017; Connection deadline: 2/2018

Fairfield/Berkshire Fairfield, Berkshire, Inwood, Brookfield; Construction TBD-2018; Connection deadline: 2/2019

The 45s Lakewood, Oakwood, Forest, South Point, Tomahawk; Construction TBD-2018; Connection deadline: 6/30/2019

*Formerly combined neighborhoods have until February of 2018 to separate their water. These streets include: Avon Belden, Beachdale, Beck, Bellaire, Belle, Burton, Cherry Lane, Coveland, Curtis, Dellwood, Drummond, Duff, Electric, Fay, Forest Hill, Glenview, Gra-gull, Groveland, Harvey Parkway, Herrmann, Inwood, James Circle, Jaycox, June, Karen, Lake, Lakeview, Lear, Miller, Moore, Mull, Parkview, Redwood, Sunset, Vineyard, Westshore, Woodstock, Yoder, York.

The short story:

• If your home was built before 1972, call ALMU (440-933-6226) to set up an inspection.
• ALMU is available to you throughout this entire process, including when you discuss options with your contractor.
• You have at least five years to complete the work. By mid-2019, every home in Avon Lake will need to have separated their clean and dirty water.
• ALMU will give you credits on your quarterly sewer bill once your home is in compliance.
• You can find more information on the separations, including neighborhoods involved and construction updates by visiting http://alwtr.us/KeepLakeErieClean, liking AvonLakeWater on Facebook or following @AvonLakeWater on Twitter.

Thanks for helping us keep your Lake Erie clean.