Posted on 03/15/2007 3:27:27 PM PDT by MotleyGirl70
Portable toilets might pinch hit at Brewers opening day
Portable toilets or waste-pumping trucks might be pressed into service for the Brewers' opening day game at Miller Park if sanitary sewer line problems aren't resolved in time for the first pitch of the 2007 season, officials said Wednesday.
More tests of Miller Park sewers on Wednesday confirmed at least one pipe coming from private suite bathrooms is hooked improperly to a storm sewer draining to the Menomonee River.
As the testing continued, state environmental officials discussed options to prevent ongoing pollution of the river if the problem cannot be fixed by the Brewers' April 2 home opener.
"We're feeling confident that we'll have it fixed by opening day," said Mike Duckett, executive director of the Miller Park stadium district.
Should there be a delay in Duckett's game plan, however, the state Department of Natural Resources would impose a contingency plan "to ensure there aren't any more discharges to storm sewers," said Benjamin Benninghoff, a DNR storm water specialist. The storm sewers drain directly to the Menomonee River, which carries the human sewage downstream to the Milwaukee River and Lake Michigan.
Among the options environmental regulators might consider are the use of portable toilets by fans in the affected areas or waste pumping trucks that would intercept the flow before it gets to the storm sewer, Benninghoff said.
Correcting the plumbing problems likely would cost about $10,000 if there is only one sanitary pipe misconnected to a storm sewer, Duckett said.
Plumbers on Wednesday poured dye into sinks throughout the northern part of the stadium and found no additional problems, a day after crews from the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District first found a misconnection.
"We are going to test the rest of the stadium within the next week to 10 days," Duckett said.
Wednesday's tests showed the misconnection that has been confirmed to date is somewhere between third level suites in the northeast corner and a storm sewer beneath an access road immediately east of U.S. Highway 41, Duckett said.
Bathrooms at TGI Friday's restaurant in the northeast corner are not connected to the problem pipe, tests confirmed Wednesday.
"The trick will be in finding where the wrong connection was made," Duckett said. His task could get trickier if more bathrooms are found to be emptying directly into the storm sewers and then on to the river and lake.
The misconnection identified thus far might be beneath a parking lot or a pedestrian plaza. A contractor might have linked the wrong sewer pipes at the time of Miller Park construction or it might be a problem inherited from old County Stadium pipes, Duckett said. County Stadium was built in 1953.
On Wednesday, a stadium plumber worked with Alpine Plumbers, one of several subcontractors that installed sewer lines inside Miller Park when it was built, to begin the process of methodically testing pipe connections inside the facility.
A separate contractor installed pipes in parking lots and plazas outside the stadium, Duckett said.
Emergency fund
No additional taxpayer funds will be needed to correct the misconnection when it is found, Duckett said. A $10,000 repair would be paid with funds from an emergency capital repair account. The stadium district is responsible for all sewers at Miller Park.
Duckett said he is convinced that further dye tests will not uncover widespread problems. Wednesday's investigation cleared much of the north half of the stadium, he said.
At this time, he does not intend to fix blame on a contractor for the one known mistake.
"We would have to reconstruct whether plans were in error or if inspections were in error, and that could involve several parties," Duckett said. "And if it is an old Milwaukee County Stadium connection, I don't know who would be asked to pay for that."
An investigation of possible sewer misconnections at Miller Park is being done in response to tests last year of water samples from a storm sewer discharge pipe on the Menomonee River east of the stadium and south of I-94. Each of 12 samples tested positive for the genetic marker for a human fecal bacteria, indicating that sanitary sewers were discharging to the storm sewer.
Another indication that misconnected sewers likely will not be found throughout Miller Park is that testing for the genetic marker found it in only one of three storm sewers draining the entire property.
Testing in 2005 and 2006 found the genetic marker in more than 50% of samples taken from 18 other municipal and private storm sewers, including one pipe discharging to Honey Creek immediately downstream of State Fair Park.
Never had the chance to visit Miller. The last time I came up was County Stadium.
Seems to me like between the roof and the toilets Miller Park will end up costing the good folks in Wisconsin trillions of dollars before she finally caves in. LOL
From the Land of Sky Blue Waters
That stench coming from the park isn't sewage.
If that's a jab at the Brewers or Brewers fans you can piss off troll.
You have to see Miller Park; it's really spectacular.
I have many fond memories from ball games at County Stadium but it was really old and rickety.
I have to be content with the trip to see the boys play in Atlanta at least for now, but I ain't getting any younger....
Sad to say, I'm not one of those rich Republicans the media keeps telling us about.
Neither am I so were in the same boat :)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.