Grabbing the Low-Hanging, Cheap Fruit Completing a Private Property Infiltration and Inflow Reduction Program For Half the Price

To comply with a State issued Consent Decree, the Water Works and Sewer Board of the City of Prichard, AL had to replace or repair 1,000 private sanitary sewer laterals to reduce inflow and infiltration that was leading to sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs). The anticipated cost of this effort was expected to be between 800,000 and 1 million, a significant amount for a community with a median household income of less than 20,000.Early struggles with excessive paperwork, inadequate equipment, and inexperienced personnel led to concerns by the State about the lack of progress. A revised strategy that simplified analysis and streamlined work was developed. The results were a 30 percent reduction in inflow and infiltration at a cost of 550,000. Overall SSO volumes were reduced by 95% and the number of recurring SSOs dropped from eight to one.