Officials Give Details About Beatty Hills Sewer System

SPRINGFIELD– and officials held a meeting Friday evening, Dec. 16, to present Beatty Hills residents with more details about the . More than 50 residents filled the Springfield Township meeting room to view a slideshow presentation from Springfield Township Engineer Joseph Mastronardo of Pennoni Associates, with an informal Q&A afterwards. 

Springfield Commissioner Dan Lanciano said the meeting was held to “clear up any misconceptions,” and he asked residents to digest the information and bring their further questions and concerns to a follow-up meeting to be held sometime in January. Anthony Hamaday, Marple's township manager, and Pat Larkin, Marple Township republican leader, were also present.  

Of the 92 homes affected in Beatty Hills, 54 are in Marple, 38 are in Springfield. The homes all presently have some type of septic systems installed on an average three-quarter acre lot. 

Mastronardo told the residents that the low-pressure sanitary sewer system will be partially funded by a $267,369 grant awarded to both townships. Total costs for the project are estimated to be $1.1 million; on first reading, despite residents’ objections. 

Homeowners will be expected to purchase and install a grinder pump along with a sewer lateral connection to the main. They will also have to maintain the pump and lateral. Residents’ costs are projected to be $6,500 to $9,500 for the grinder pump and tapping fees. 

The reason the Beatty Hills homes will be required to connect to public sewer, Mastronardo said, is because of the risk of failed systems, cesspools/non-compliant systems and property resale. Ninety-five percent of Springfield homes are on public sewer, he noted. 

“If you have a compliant system, you will not be required to hook up until it fails or until you sell,” Mastronardo told the residents, “but now is a great time to do it,” citing the grant to offset costs and the ability to buy the pumps in bulk and pass on savings. Employees from the public works department for both Springfield and Marple townships will install the piping system, which will convey the waste to the Beatty Road sewer main.

Municipal responsibilities would include: the construction of the low-pressure sewer main; providing a connection point for each home; providing contact information for an emergency service contractor for grinder pumps. 

Residents expressed concerns about the effectiveness of a pump in case of a power outage in a “notorious area in a big storm.” The pump would store enough water to operate for about a day without power, Mastronardo said, and residents have the option of installing a back-up generator.

Lanciano noted that he would be in touch with his contacts at PECO to see if they could correct the problem of the area’s regular outages. The power was out for 14 hours during Hurricane Irene on Aug. 27, 2011, on the 400 block of Conrad, Collins and the 700 block of Louise drives, according to a report from PECO.

Lanciano told the residents that “nothing is being forced down your throat,” and they would meet again next month to decide if residents should vote on the project.