Published: April 20, 2008 11:21 pm      

Sewer tests hike homeselling costs

The cost of selling a home is going up.

Stonycreek Township commissioners and Highland Sewer and Water Authority are the latest sewer operators to require all systems to be tested before resale.

New ordinances are coming to other systems, too, as local leaders grapple with storm water-related sewage overloads in the Johnstown Regional Sewage system and its Dornick Point treatment plant.

“We have to reduce the total amount of flow coming into the system,” said Ron Repak, director of Johnstown Redevelopment Authority, which operates the regional system.

More than 20 municipalities sending sewage to Dornick Point are being asked to enact resale ordinances that require at least smoke and dye testing before deeds are transferred, Repak said. The new regulations are part of the authority’s corrective action plan mandated by the state Department of Environmental Protection.

Although the tests are relatively inexpensive, failing the test likely will cost thousands, Highland Manager Ed Englehart said. Virtually all older homes will fail, he added.

“In all our (infiltration and inflow) experience, we found the biggest culprit is the residential property – and it’s the older residences,” Englehart said.

Repairs can cost from about $2,000 to nearly $10,000, depending on the type of construction, depth of lines and other factors, said John Prater, owner of Roto-Rooter Plumbing and Drain Service, 115 Sann St.

Some fixes are as simple as pulling a new line through the damaged underground pipe, but others require cutting through basement concrete to get at damaged pipes or improper connections, he said.

“That’s where you find most of your terra-cotta pipe,” Prater said – the clay pipe rarely seals completely when new and deteriorates through the years.

The Johnstown Regional Sewage system is designed to treat up to 12 million gallons of sewage a day.

But with stormwater finding its way into sewers, daily flows of 14 million gallons are common.

Major projects to overhaul municipal systems already are increasing sewer bills in most municipalities. The new regulations target older, leaking systems in homes and businesses.

Stonycreek this month approved an ordinance requiring smoke or dye testing for all properties being sold, township Commissioner Craig Ostheim said. The smoke test involves pumping nontoxic vapor into a sanitary sewer port to find potential leaks. With dye testing, colored water is poured into stormwater drains and down spout ports to see whether it gets into the sanitary sewer.

Highland has gone a step beyond the redevelopment authority’s request. Beginning in June, many properties sold will have to pass pressure tests with water or air, Englehart said.

Highland has been dealing with infiltration and inflow issues under state scrutiny for more than two decades, Englehart said.

Most properties were smoke and dye tested years ago to identify illegal down spout and lawn drain connections.

“We don’t think the smoke and dye test is going to show much,” Englehart said, noting Highland has required pressure tests on new construction for several years.

Customers of the Pegasus Sewer System and Forest Hills Municipal Authority have pressure test requirements for all properties sold, but Highland didn’t go that far. Any property seller who can certify the system was tested in the past 15 years will require only a walk-through inspection, Englehart said.

The additional expense of testing and repairs has not been a major factor in real estate business for those municipalities that already require testing, said Keith Griffith, broker/owner of Howard Hanna Heritage Real Estate, 437 Theater Drive.

“This is what the world is coming to,” Griffith said.

“I haven’t seen a sewer-line situation being a deal-killer anywhere. Does it make anybody happy? No. But it’s required. It has to be dealt with, and then you move on.”