Sewage leak at Sargent leaves rancid reminder of aging pipes

About an inch of raw sewage spread across nearly half of Sargent Hall's parking garage Thursday night.

Clogged pipes caused a leak on the garage's floor, producing a rancid smell of human waste that permeated the garage before being power-washed away by university staff.

Athens' Sewer Supervisor Scott Lambert, who has the city's only high-pressure hose for clearing pipes, said this is about the fifth time in his six years on the job that he used it to clear Ohio University's pipes. The work is done for free in a mutual relationship with OU.

Whatever was in there clogging it up

it was released out Lambert said.

Facilities responded to the spill at about 9:30 p.m. and the clog was fixed two hours later that night, said Michael Gebeke, executive director of Facilities Management.

When everyone flushes the toilet it just adds to the problem

he said.

The 1-inch diameter hose was loaded through a manhole on Richland Avenue and forced 2,500 pounds per square inch of water into the pipes for about 30 seconds, knocking the sewage into Athens' main system.

OU's clogs are relatively infrequent, as Lambert said he uses the high-pressure hose about 180 times per year for city blockage.

We all have aging infrastructure. A lot of the sewer lines were put in the 1930s

'40s and '50s

he said, adding that pipes last about 30 years.

Sargent Hall opened in 1963 and new pipes were created for the building at around the same time, said Joseph Fabiny, director of standards and support services in University Planning and Implementation.

Replacing those pipes is on the agenda, but it is a huge job that will likely require tearing up the ground on Richland Avenue, Gebeki said, adding that Facilities has not yet finalized plans.

This is a problem all over the country

not just OU and us

Lambert said.

Drains are cleared twice a year to prevent these problems from recurring more, Gebeki said.

How the pipes became blocked is still unknown, but Lambert said one major cause is often grease.

If you wash a dish

you put grease down a sewer whether you know it or not

he said.

Lambert said he has found bath and paper towels, socks, shirts and tin cans blocking pipes in the city.

It's way

way