By Staff
SEWER WORK Mitch King of Engineering-Surveying-Inspection Inc. shows how a manhole on Marion-Garden Road in southeast Marion next to Sowashee Creek will be raised from 6 inches to 3 feet above the ground. The manhole is in one of Marion's lowest areas, about 344 feet above sea level, and will be raised to help stop flood waters from leaking into the sewer system. Photo by Lynette Wilson/The Meridian Star
By Lynette Wilson / staff writer
Oct. 29, 2002
Marion's sewer system is deteriorating. The pipes that make up the 11-mile system are, in some cases, 60 years old.
Marion received a $300,000 state grant to line about 4,000 feet of 8- to 10-inch diameter pipe in the town's lowest-lying area south of Industrial Boulevard on either side of Highway 45.
Town officials will also use part of the money to elevate existing manholes, replace cracked and damaged manholes and line the system with a 6-millimeter thick waterproof adhesive.
Marion's system
Marion's sewer system is divided into three sections; the southern section is the most critical.
King said when the area receives a high-intensity rainfall of 4 inches an hour, it drains fast and fills the sewer system.
Marion pays Meridian to treat its sewage. But because stormwater seeps into the sewer system, King said, Marion is also paying for Meridian to treat about three times the volume of water.
The lawsuit
Marion Alderman Joey Wagner said the work needed to be done regardless of a lawsuit Marion filed against Meridian over Meridian's decision to raise sewage treatment rates.
The Meridian City Council voted in November 2000 to raise the rate to treat Marion's sewage from 67 cents per 1,000 gallons to $2.43 per 1,000 gallons. The lawsuit is expected to go to trial in December.
Charlotte Rasco, Marion town clerk, said Meridian sends bills calculated at the higher rate, but she recalculates the bill based on the lower one and pays only that amount.
Meridian residents pay the $2.43 rate, which includes maintenance costs of the entire sewer system. Marion maintains its own system.