It is not hyperbole to suggest that a potential environmental disaster is lurking beneath Indian Lake in Lawrence Township. Concern about the structural integrity of a decades-old iron sewer pipe and the possibility that it could fail, has utility officials and the mayor’s office working on an action plan to avoid what would be a malodorous problem – and worse. The following are portions of recent interviews (Jun. 6, Aug. 17) with Lawrence Mayor Dean Jessup, and Utilities Superintendent John Solenberg, about what lies beneath Indian Lake – and what they plan to do about it.
Supt. Solenberg
The only folks that are really intimately aware of this issue… are the folks that live here at the lake, and have lived here since the mid 70s. They are all aware that there’s an issue underneath the lake. It’s a ticking time bomb. So, they’re very, very interested in seeing this corrected, and we think we’ve got a very good plan to do it.
Mayor Jessup
[There is] 4,200 feet of metal sewer pipe (ductile iron) that runs underneath Indian Lake over near the dam. It has a 50-year shelf life. It’s been in the ground for over forty years now. That would imply that it’s eighty percent used up. If that were to break and cause a leak, it would mean serious implications for not only all of Lawrence, as far as sewage goes, but would also mean serious implications for Castleton and the other parts of Indianapolis that drain into the same sewer system, which eventually goes down to the 402 Interceptor.
We connect with Indianapolis right at the end of this 4,100 feet of sewer pipe, and then it goes on down into the Indianapolis system, down to the 402 Interceptor, which is near the Fort. If this sewer pipe failed, that would cause the 402 Interceptor to fail, which is why all of the sewer systems north of that would be in jeopardy. So, the challenge is either upgrade the 402 Interceptor – which is extremely expensive – or, route around it and abandon this 4,100 feet of sewer pipe.
Supt. Solenberg
How we do it is, we stop the flow just upstream of Indian Lake. And the way we do that is to install a lift station. To bring it down to simple terms, a lift station is nothing different than basically a sump pump that someone would have in their basement. So, the water flows into it, it’s picked up and it’s moved. Once the water is picked up, from that point, it’s put into what’s called a force main (because the water is being forced, it’s not running by gravity.) So, it runs through a force main and, that in turn, will run downstream and connect in to our original connection point with the Indianapolis system.
Mayor Jessup
There should be no concern over ground water, over a sewage problem, capacity problems – at this time. However, if we don’t do this, there would be major concern in both areas because we have some stations that are called SSSOs (sanitary sewer overflows), and those would contaminate the environment should they overflow.
Supt. Solenberg
It is a hidden issue, but it would become a very public issue if this pipe failed under Indian Lake. It would be a catastrophe on the scale that we’ve never seen in the city of Lawrence, and at that point in time, all bets are off on the cost to repair.
Mayor Jessup
We have it in [engineering] design now… and we hope to start work next spring. It would be about a year-and-a-half project probably to complete the entire project.
Supt. Solenberg
The engineers estimate is $20 million for the project. We will be seeking a bond issue for the work. We are in discussions with the EPA [because] we would like to use funds that are currently set aside for EPA projects as the funding source for the bond. We believe we will prevail, so there will not be a sewer rate increase related to the diversion project.
