PITTSTON TWP. — Ellen Nocito has lived on Ridge Road for 20 years and never had a problem with her well water until a multimillion-dollar sewer construction project got underway a few weeks ago.
Cloudy water started coming out of her faucet around the time the drilling and thunderous jackhammering crept closer to her well, so she took a sample for testing. Her family’s water tested positive for bacteria and is “unsafe for drinking,” according to an analysis done by the Kirby Health Center in Wilkes-Barre, she said.
“Water is a necessity for life,” the married mother of two said recently.
The Nocito family and others fear all 106 homeowners being forced to tap into — and pay for — the sewer system on and around the upper portion of Suscon Road risk well-water contamination due to fracturing of the bedrock embedded in the mountainside. In addition, all homeowners must pay a $1,432 “tap-in” fee, $65 a month for 20 years to repay the loan, $280 annually in sewer use fees, and absorb the costs of disposal of existing septic systems.
“I’m not sure why they are so anxious to push these sewers through,” Ms. Nocito said. “There’s a lot of elderly people who are on fixed incomes.”
At least three homeowners have filed complaints with the state Department of Environmental Protection about possible water contamination, said regional DEP spokeswoman Colleen Connolly. The agency is monitoring the situation, but doesn’t have jurisdiction over private wells, so concerns should be directed to the township and its sewer authority, she said.
Members of the sewer authority insist existing contamination is the reason the project is necessary as existing wells and septic systems are aging. They argue a majority of homeowners support the project, but only a vocal minority opposes.
“The big thing you got to remember up here is there are so many septic systems that are below standard, and they are also leaking,” said sewer authority board member Michael Kristula, whose home is among those being connected to the new system. “Once these sewers are in, people will start seeing the benefits. The value of their properties will go up and more homes will be built.”
Ron Kielb, 56, who lives along Suscon Road, said his well is underground and noticed the contractors have marked a spot where a manhole is to be installed. It’s closer to his well than the minimum 50-foot buffer zone the project guidelines call for. The drilling and blasting work didn’t get to his house yet, but he’s worried about his water supply when it does.
“You can’t live without water,” Mr. Kielb said.
The earth-shaking work to dig openings to lay sewer pipe is fracturing the bedrock of the mountain, Mr. Kielb said.
“They are breaking the rock, which is a sanitary seal for our wells,” Mr. Kielb said.
Calls to the construction firm, Shavertown-based Fehlinger Construction Group, were not returned last week.
A $2.45 million state grant is funding a large portion of the project, while the owners of the 106 homes getting service will be responsible for paying the remaining bill of about $1.65 million. The plan is to charge them $65 a month for 20 years, in addition to the tap-in fee and quarterly bill of $70 from the Lower Lackawanna Valley Sanitary Authority. At a recent meeting, board members couldn’t promise residents that those fees won’t be higher as the project progresses.
Requiring residents to connect to new sewer systems is allowed in the Second Class Township Code, and the sewer authority previously passed an ordinance to require participation, said attorney Matt Carmody, the sewer board’s solicitor.
Those who might have trouble paying the monthly fee will be allowed to enter into payment plans, he said.
Contact the writer:
bkalinowski@citizensvoice.com