WINFIELD — Despite its completion more than two months ago, Winfield residents are still complaining about the mess caused by the new sewer pipeline.
Contractor Mortimer's Excavating Inc. installed the 60,000-foot sewer pipeline that connects about 320 properties to the Municipal Authority of Buffalo Township.
But throughout the construction process, township residents complained about muddy trenches and messed up yards.
Now, Brose Road resident Tim Vantine is blaming a broken water pump worth $500 on the excavation.
“I have a real problem with Mortimer's,” Vantine told the township supervisors at Thursday's meeting.
While pumping water out of one of the pipeline trenches, Mortimer's dropped the water table in his and his neighbors' wells, Vantine said.
Vantine said his neighbors' wells use pumps that automatically turn off with a pressure change and weren't affected. However, his pump does not and continued to run despite the loss in water until the pump burned out.
When reached after the meeting, Mortimer's co-owner Ron Mortimer said what happened isn't the company's fault. He said any well would be much deeper than the trench being dug.
“One thing about sewer projects is they're unpopular,” Mortimer said.
Supervisor Matthew Klabnik has said throughout the construction process that he's happy to put up with the complaints because of the money the township saved by using Mortimer's instead of one of the other companies that wanted the job.
The township is paying about $5 million to Mortimer's for the sewer pipeline, which was about $1 million less than the next bidder would have charged, Klabnik said.
Mortimer's saved the township about $300,000 by coming in under budget, Klabnik said.
“In the end,” Klabnik said, “we'll put up with some things.”
Supervisors agreed that they would make sure Vantine is reimbursed for the $500 he spent on a new pump.
“We're going to pay you whether it's us (the township) or Mortimer's,” Chairman Michael Robb said.
Denny Mills bridge update
Construction on Denny Mills bridge will be delayed a month, supervisors said.
Last month, the township supervisors told residents that the Butler County bridge crew would start construction mid-September.
However, the crew's bridge project in Muddy Creek Township is taking longer than anticipated. As a result, they'll start work in Winfield in mid-October.
The Denny Mills bridge has been closed for almost a year. It was torn down last month and the steel was sold to Tenney Rigging for $3,777.
Once construction starts, township officials said, Gerner Road will be closed off where it connects to Marwood Road in order for workers to make the replacement bridge wider.
Supervisors still anticipate that the bridge will be completed by the end of the year.
Sarah Kovash is a freelance writer for Trib Total Media. Comments regarding this story can be sent to (724) 226-4666 or vndcity@tribweb.com.
