Inside City Hall

May 14, 2008

Hanes Underwater Experiment

The election is over, Durwood Thigpen and David Walsh were sworn in last night at the monthly council meeting. The 4B sales tax provision passed, so the City Council will soon appoint a seven-member board. It’s time to move away from the kennel and the polls to something entirely different, maybe even breathtaking. This week I have accepted the assignment of writing about sewage. Citizens pay for fresh water that comes into their houses and they pay again for wastewater as it flushes down the drain.

The earliest document one could find at City Hall pertaining to water/sewage use was from 1934. At that time a new water customer paid a whole dollar for a water connection and inspection and another dollar for sewage connection and inspection. We aren’t sure what the inspection entailed.

A meter deposit was $6.50, which would be returned to the customer upon disconnection. The customer could use 6,000 gallons of water, or less, for $1.50 a month. If anyone used over that amount they would pay 20 cents more for each 1,000 gallons. But for the months June, July and August, the minimum was 10,000 gallons. The lawns were green in 1934.

On each sewage connection where there was one bath tub, one lavatory, one commode, and one kitchen sink the monthly charge was $1.50. If there were other units, the customer would be charged an extra seventy-five cents a month.

The water and sewage bills were due on the 10th of the month, and if not paid on that day or before, the water would be disconnected. There was no grace period, but then there were no late fees either.

The passage of time dictates change, even in the water department. Today the water bill consists of charges for sewage, garbage, and water. This bill is due on the 15th of every month. If not paid by then, the account is considered "Late" and a 10 percent late fee is added to the bill. If the 15th falls on a weekend or holiday, the next business day becomes the due date. If not paid by the 25th of the month, services will be terminated. The bill, plus a $20 reconnect fee must be paid in order to reestablish service. A meter deposit is $100.

Today, water customers pay $14 a month for the first 2,000 gallons and $4 a thousand gallons after that. Sewage is $12 per 2,000 gallons and $2 for each thousand gallons over. The sewage charge is based on the amount of water used.

The City often incurs charges that cannot be passed on to the customers. These charges are anticipated, however, at least to some degree, and are budgeted in preparation for those times.
One of those times happened recently, a sewage blockage occurred on N. 3rd. Simpler methods of dislodging the blockage from the six-inch pipe failed. A crew from Haskell tried to help, but their water-pressure hose couldn’t budge the culprit. So the water crew went after the problem with a backhoe and before the day was over they had a hole in the pipe and had discovered the problem. A large amount of cooking grease had attracted several items of underclothing and other objects, to become a gigantic submerged glob. The thing evidently grew as it flowed and had gotten so fat it couldn’t go any further.

After some amount of work the guys dislodged the "thing," allowing the backed up wastewater to move on. The crew did some nifty engineering to repair the pipe, but the whole north side was relieved, as they flushed without anxiety. Our water crew spent over 60 hours to repair the line.
So you see, the City was not at fault for this unfortunate event, yet they had to pay about $1,17.00 to repair it. City Hall has issued a plea to all citizens, "do not pour cooking grease down the drain, and please do not wash your underwear in the commode." None of us could quite figure out how clothing could make it through the traps to get into the sewer. But they did, and these had names engraved on them, so we know whose they are. Shame of you, John Doe. By the way, you can pick up your belongings at the City Hall, but you might want to wash them before you wear them again.

This incident has been written up as the Hanes Underwater Experiment. This could make the national headlines. Now, didn’t that story take your breath away? If not, maybe you weren’t standing close enought to the hole.

Editor's Note:We will follow up on the sewage part of this story with some interesting information about the "leftovers" of treating wastewater --- sludge.