A sewer overflow problem in Ormond sparked a complaint to the Environmental Protection Agency as council members and the public works department address drainage concerns parishwide.
During a recent Operation, Maintenance and Construction Management Committee meeting, Public Works Director Sam Scholle said there was an overflowed toilet at the restroom facility behind the firehouse in Ormond. Subsequently, a complaint was filed with the EPA.
“A sewerage overflow anywhere in this parish is serious and we can be fined if these problems are not fixed immediately,” Councilwoman At-Large Carolyn Schexnaydre said. “I feel confident the sewerage and wastewater department is in the process of taking care of this problem as we speak.”
Schexnaydre says she wishes the council could have gotten an opportunity to talk with the people concerned before they made the phone call to see what assistance she and the rest of the council could have provided.
Scholle said overflow problems and exceedance issues with sewer systems occur in all areas of the country. As the parish continues to grow, however, more areas will come under the MS4 program.
St. Rose and Ormond are part of an MS4 (municipal separate storm sewer system) Urban Storm Water program administered by the federal government right now. The program requires public works to develop and implement procedures for how to monitor storm water runoff and any contaminants it may contain. Contaminants could be due to sewer overflows or any number of substances, including motor oil.
Participation in the program is based on an area’s population density.
Scholle added that another part of the program involves interacting with the public and educating them on the issue.
The preliminary totals for fixing drainage and sewage infrastructure problems on the east and west bank total well over $50 million and the parish plans to make as many repairs as possible. The parish has put out an RFQ to do a complete master drainage plan for both sides of the parish.
Engineering firms are being asked to provide a conceptual design report dividing the projects into major tasks with preliminary cost estimates for each task.
“Projects will be prioritized and the committee will look at ways to evenly divide the most important repairs on the east and west bank,” Schexnaydre said. “We know that it will take time to make these repairs, but they are needed and need to be taken care of to rid parish streets of flooding and other serious drainage problems.”
Public works has already started repairing some of the flood-prone areas in the parish.
A collapsed culvert, which caused drainage problems for people living on Maryland Drive near Primrose in Luling was replaced last month.
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