Sanitary Sewer

  1. Inflow Problem
  2. You Can Help
  3. Who Is Responsible

Inflow Problem

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and the United States Environmental Protection Agency have both issued directives requiring us to remove inflow from our sanitary sewerage system. What is inflow? It can best be described as rainwater which enters the sanitary sewer system through the connection of the following to the sewers:

  • Roof downspouts
  • Sump pumps
  • Yard/patio area drains
  • Exterior stairway drains
  • Floor drains in basements which flood during heavy rains

The discharge of rainwater into our sanitary sewer system can lead to the following:

  • Sanitary sewer overflows into creeks and other waterways
  • Basement backups
  • Increased sewer system operational costs
  • The necessity to construct expensive major capital improvements to carry the excess water

In response to the directives, the Western Lehigh municipalities, including our township, commenced work on a corrective action plan in 2010 entitled Sewer Capacity And Reassurance Program (SCARP) which has been designed to address the inflow problem.