Sewer line, sink hole repair won’t be immediate

Repair to the damaged sewer line will take at least a week to fix. Photo/Kathryn Reed

By Kathryn Reed

South Tahoe Public Utility District’s board on April 20 is expected to allocate up to $100,000 for emergency repairs on a ruptured sewer line crossing Tahoe Keys Boulevard in South Lake Tahoe.

Crews from Thomas Haen Company were to arrive Wednesday to begin fixing the problem. It could be more than a week before the work is completed.

When the failure was first detected April 14 the sewer district was able to reroute the discharge so it did not get into the groundwater or soil.

The failure caused a huge sink hole in the road that spans part of both lanes of travel and the median. A detour allows fluid travel in this South Lake Tahoe neighborhood.

This is a 57-year-old 24-inch asbestos cement pipe that is 16-feet deep. This section is 80-feet long. It was installed before all the houses in the Tahoe Keys were built. The length and severity of the break won’t be known until the construction team starts digging.

According to the district, the pipe is believed to be corroded and collapsed because of high hydrogen sulfide. 

Portable pumps are pumping sewage out of the manhole and into the wet well, and also directly into the Tahoe Keys force main. From there it goes to STPUD’s plant.

Adding to the problem is the ground water is only 3 feet below the surface and the backfill material is “highly deficient.”

While the district’s board is the only entity needing to sign off on the work, Lahontan Regional Water Quality Board, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency and South Lake Tahoe officials have input into the process.