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Sanitary sewer replacement to begin in Poland Municipal Forest
POLAND
Work is set to begin this week to replace a sanitary sewer in the Poland Municipal Forest under the path closest to Interstate 680.
The project includes putting a new liner under 680 and replacing the existing pipe, according to the Mahoning County Sanitary Engineer’s office, which is responsible for the sewer line.
The sewer extends through the upper west end of the trail near 680. That section of the trail will be closed during construction.
The pipe first became an issue about 21/2 years ago when it burst. It subsequently was repaired but is again starting to fail.
When the pipe burst, the sewage leak contaminated Yellow Creek, according to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources wildlife division, both of which followed up on the damage.
“The ODNR Division of Wildlife investigated a wild- animal kill in Yellow Creek in Mahoning County, Ohio, on or about June 14, 2012,” a spokesperson for ODNR said in an email. “It was determined that 4,989 wild animals, mostly fish, were killed in this creek as a result of a break in a sewer line operated by the Mahoning County Sanitary Engineer’s Office.”
The wildlife division received $1,293 in compensation for the loss of animals and the cost of its investigation.
The sanitary engineer’s office awarded the $379,000 contract for the replacement project to J.S. Bova Excavating LLC of North Jackson.
In response to concerns raised by Friends of the Poland Municipal Forest, a group dedicated to maintenance and protection of the forest, a representative of MS Consultants assured the group in a letter that proper sediment control, topsoil preservation and mulching and seeding plans were addressed by leaders of the project, and that all suggestions from the Poland Forest Board were incorporated into the plans.
Crews will be using the College Street entrance to access the forest, and then the entrance to the Upper McKinley Trail. Upper McKinley Trail west to Butler Trail, Butler Trail north to Lower McKinley Trail and Lower McKinley Trail west to the 680 right-of-way are the areas inside the forest that crews will use to access the work site.
The project can begin Monday, and is set to be complete March 30 of next year, according to MS Consultants, which engineered the project.
Project plans are available for residents to review at village hall, 308 S. Main St.