EagleTribune.com, North Andover, MA
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Andover DPW director asks for $250,000 sewer flusher truck
Published: November 21, 2008
Sewer flusher truck demo
Today: 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Tomorrow: 7:30 a.m. to noon
Call Highway Superintendent Chris Cronin at 978-265-8963 for locations.
ANDOVER — A $250,000 sewer flusher truck may be coming to a manhole near you.
For three years, Andover public works Director Jack Petkus has lobbied the town to purchase the maintenance vehicle, which uses pressurized water to unclog sewer lines.
Twice the request was voted down at Town Meeting, and two years ago Petkus was forced to cut the truck from his list of capital projects and equipment.
The truck was actually approved at Town Meeting last year by a 152-123 vote, though a two-third majority was required because the town needed to borrow money for the purchase.
This year, Petkus hopes live demonstrations with the truck on Andover sewer lines will help convince residents that the vehicle is necessary.
Town workers will be out with a rental sewer flusher truck today and tomorrow.
Petkus said the town uses a trailer-mounted machine to clean its sewers, and that the device doesn't have the power to use all of its 300 feet of hose.
"It's supposed to be maintenance work, but we can't do it with the equipment we have now," said Petkus. "Ours doesn't have the oomph to pull the hose behind it. What we have will not propel itself far enough into the manhole."
The truck being used in demonstrations is similar to what Petkus hopes to purchase.
It has 650 feet of hose, which is kept on a reel inside a heated bed along with a water tank. Up to 75 gallons of water per minute can be pumped into sewer lines at pressures of up to 3,000 pounds-per-square-inch, and a camera and recorder can document the condition of the pipes.
Selectman Brian Major is convinced the truck will cut down on the cost of sewer maintenance and help the town maintain its infrastructure.
"If we're going to have assets, we better be able to maintain them," said Major. "It's critical, even in a down market, to make sure we have the proper equipment."
Others in town, including Selectman Alex Vispoli, are not convinced.
"Especially with the year we're having now, I don't see justification," said Vispoli. "It's a financial decision. It's something we just can't afford."
The town is paying $3,000 for the three days of demonstrations.
Yesterday, Andover Water and Sewer Superintendent Morris Gray was on Cheever Circle with the truck, along with a crew of town engineers and equipment operators.
Gray said his workers are out weekly performing sewer maintenance, and that the truck would cut in half the time it takes to do the work.
Some town sewer infrastructure dates back to the 1920s. Grease in sewer lines builds up over time and can solidify after mixing with cold water, eventually coating the pipes.
"If you don't clean them, then they back up," said Gray. "It's easier to maintain them than it is to react to a block."
Vispoli said less than $10,000 was spent on emergency sewer truck rentals last year, an amount not high enough to justify the cost of purchasing the six-figure maintenance vehicle.
"It was not even a close call," said Vispoli. "It wasn't necessary."
