The council’s ability to declare the sewer main an emergency stems from an exception in the city’s procurement policy procedure, which allows for the council to avoid competitive bidding in the case of a public emergency arising from circumstances that could affect public health.

“This in my professional opinion requires immediate attention,” Male said.

City officials noted that they had known about the problem for sometime, but had decided to forestall efforts at fixing the pipe until a later date. Saratoga Springs City Engineer Paul Male said that it had not become a major issue until the city experienced three to four breaks in the sewer main over the last two weeks,

On Monday, the Department of Public Works cut out a 12-foot section that had five clamps on it. Male said that the section probably had more clamps than it did pipe.

“We are pretty much just taking a piece of stainless steel and rapping it around as tight as it can be wound in order to hold it together,” Male said.  “It’s basically band aids for the pipe.”

The problem stems from a 1500 foot steel force main, which serves the Grand Industrial Park.

The pipe is corroded to the point where a serious sewer spillage could occur if it is not fixed soon.

The sewer main is a 35 year old cast iron pipe that was installed during the early 1970s when the industrial park was first built. Male said at that time cast iron was the industry standard for sewer mains. The new main would be plastic and has a life of over 100 years.

Money for the project will be covered by capital budgets. An original proposal for fixing the sewer main was set at $100,000. However, due to the recent breaks in the line the company has estimated the cost of fixing the main at $346,000; $200,000 of which will be used to bore under Amtrak tracks and to place a 24-inch casing that the new plastic pipe will be put through that CP Rail says has to be installed under the tracks.

The sewer main carries pressurized sewage under two pump stations that run under Geyser Road and the Amtrak tracks. If the line was to go out of service it would affect Quad/Graphics, Ball Metal, the Saratoga Springs School Bus Garage and Slack Chemical. 

Commissioner of Public Works Skip Scirocco said the contracts had been signed with Anjo Construction as of Thursday and that work will begin on Monday, March 24. Previously, Male said if the council had not declared it an emergency then the city would have had to go to bid, which would have meant not getting a contractor for at least another eight weeks.