More problems for city’s sewer line

Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune

Bypass sewer lines are set at the intersection of Avenue 13 and Granada Drive to help alleviate collapsed lines the city discovered over the past few weeks. Repairs to the line will take a couple of months.

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Although problems for line, public health was never in danger

More problems have come up in regards to the repair of the city’s main sewer line heading out to the waste treatment plant.

Last month, repairs were needed when a hole was found in the main sewer line. However, more problems have risen from those repairs, which will extend the road closure on Avenue 13 and Granada Drive at least a month.

“Two Saturdays ago, Jan. 21, in the early hours, we noticed that there was an increase of the waste water levels just east of the existing sewer main collapse,” Madera City Manager Arnoldo Rodriguez said. “That line collapsed just east of the railroad, about five to six feet from the tracks. Last week, we dug the line up and there was a large void underneath the roadway. We have two collapses in the line. It happens to be that the two areas were within 60 feet of each other. There are two distinct lines. The line that just collapsed fed into the larger line that originally collapsed.”

Because of the collapse, Rodriguez issued the existence of a local emergency that was ratified by the City Council on Wednesday evening in regards to the winter storms causing damage to the city.