Sewer water may be entering storm drains

Dollard to test to see if some homes have cross-connected pipes

As part of a $9.2-million bundle of infrastructure projects planned for 2016, Dollard-des-Ormeaux will investigate if some homes have cross-connected storm and sanitary pipes.

Listed as a special project in its triennial capital program for 20162018, Dollard will invest about $175,000 to inspect homes in its territory for possible inverted pipe connections.

Mayor Ed Janiszewski said Montreal environmental officials alerted the town that it should conduct a study to determine if any or how many homes may have a cross connection problem, which would be sending sewage water into storm drains that flow towards the nearby river.

“Montreal has come up with some readings on the water conditions, and where they are coming from. So we’re examining all of our systems to determine if there is a problem and where it is,” Janiszewski said.

“We know we’ll have a few but we know it’s not large scale,” the mayor continued. “We don’t anticipate 100 (homes). We anticipate much less than that. It may be 20,” he added.

While a reimbursement policy has yet to be formalized, Janiszewski expects his town will cover repair costs in most cases, particularly when the cross connection error was made during the initial construction of a home.

“We’re waiting to see the results before we come up with a (repair refunding) policy,” he said. “We feel we’ll take a major part of the responsibility. Unless something was done by a homeowner who may have added a bathroom and cross connected it himself. Then, the homeowner will have to pay for it.”

Neighbouring Kirkland underwent city-wide inspection of its single-family homes a few years ago. It was determined that about 200 Kirkland homes had crossed storm and sanitary sewer connections. The city started notifying affected residents in early 2011, though inspections continued over a couple of years. Initially, Kirkland council balked at reimbursing homeowners the cost of repairs, sparking outrage from residents over several months in 2011. However, the city then came up with a refunding program starting at $1,800 and later increased the amount to a maximum of $5,000 for most homes. It had been estimated that inspections and its repair reimbursement policy would cost Kirkland about $1 million. The city had been alerted to the problem of crossed pipes in early 2010 by a group of Beaconsfield residents who stated sewage emanating from Kirkland emptied into the Meadowbrook stream, which flows into Lake St-Louis.

Meanwhile, Dollard’s key infrastructure spending for 2016 is $4.9 million toward road repairs on seven streets, including sections of main arteries such as St-Jean Blvd. ( between Devon and Shakespeare) and Tecumseh (near De Salaberry) and Anselme-Lavigne (near Sources Blvd.)

As well, about $1.5 million is destined to cover the rehabilitation or replacement of water mains on seven streets, including parts of De Salaberry Blvd., Du Marche and Lake Blvd.