Contractors will begin inspecting sewer lines in part of Apopka this week, for a lateral lining project meant to help strengthen the city’s aging infrastructure.
Inspections will be ongoing through the end of February in an older part of the city, an area of six parallel streets located just under two miles north of Apopka City Hall. In the coming weeks, contractors will inspect lines connecting homes on those streets to the city’s sewer system, to determine which pipes need to be reinforced.
The six affected streets are: W. Albatross Street, W. Bob White Street, W. Thrush Street, W. Nightingale Street, W. Sandpiper Street and W. Skylark Street. Although inspections could potentially cause residents to experience temporary disruptions, mainly in the realm of traffic, those disruptions should be brief and minimal, according to the city.
Apopka Mayor Bryan Nelson said the lining project is a relatively cheap, quick way of addressing leaky sewer laterals in the city. “Having to dig up sewer lines and replace them is very expensive and very rough on neighborhoods. So this is a new way of rehabilitating the sewer line.”
“You put in a liner that goes inside the pipe. So you don't really lose any capacity of the pipe; don't have to tear up roads or anything,” Nelson said. “It's a really great way of extending the life of your pipes.”
Apopka’s location within the polluted Wekiva and Rock Springs watershed means it is especially critical for the city to address weaknesses in the city’s wastewater system. The watershed, or basin, is one of dozens identified as impaired by pollution by the Florida Department of Environmental.
Each of those impaired basins is subject to a Basin Management Action Plan, or BMAP. The BMAPs outline required nutrient reduction milestones, and assign them to specific cities, counties and other entities located within the impaired watershed.
In the BMAP for Wekiva and Rock Springs, Apopka is named as one of several entities responsible for reducing nutrient pollution. The lateral lining project kicking off this week is one way the city is working to do that, Nelson said.
“Especially with Apopka being this close to Rock Springs, Wekiva Springs, we have an even lower threshold for sewer breaks and leaks,” Nelson said. “And so we just need to be proactive on making sure our pipes are in good shape, and that we minimize the number of leaks or ruptures that we have.”
Elsewhere in the city, some old galvanized and asbestos pipes for Apopka’s drinking water system also need to be replaced, Nelson said. So do two sewer lift stations that are each more than 50 years old.
“Every year, you want to take another bite out of the apple, and keep plugging along,” Nelson said. “Because if you don't do something every year, then you'll get farther and farther behind.”
