Marietta City Councilwoman Erin O’Neill discusses her thoughts on the land slip on Maple Street Extension during the Streets and Transportation Committee meeting on Tuesday. (Photo by Amber Phipps)

Marietta City Council’s Streets and Transportation; Water, Sewer and Sanitation; and Public Lands and Buildings committees met Tuesday to discuss a variety of topics.

The agenda for the Water, Sewer and Sanitation Committee included discussion about appointing members on the injection well ad hoc advisory committee. The seven-member committee will analyze specific data within the context of Class I and II injection wells.

The committee will consist of a council representative, a water superintendent, hydrogeologist, petroengineer, a representative from the legal and engineering field, a geochemist and a geologist.

“We have faults in this area and a geologist that has knowledge associated with faults is a good idea to have on the committee,” said Councilman Ben Rutherford.

Rutherford had sent the resumes of potential committee members to council members for review. He said he was hoping to have a seismologist on the committee but was unable to find one since it’s a niche area.

Rutherford said he is in the process of reaching out to specialists to see if they’re interested or available to be on the committee.

No one had any concerns or complaints about the specialists who were contacted about being on the committee. Once the members have been officially selected and confirmed, meetings must be scheduled before Dec. 31.

The committee also discussed the sewer line that runs under Interstate 77 northbound and services the rest area north of Marietta.

“It’s a cast iron pipe, and it’s corroding completely,” said Water Reclamation Superintendent Ryan Boley. “From our records, it shows that it was put in in the early ’80s.”

The water reclamation department found holes in the line which would require full replacement, according to Boley. The cost to survey and plan the layouts for a new line would cost around $60,000 with a total replacement project costing millions.

“It doesn’t need to be an emergency order but this would be something that we would be working on next year,” said Boley.

Councilman Mike Scales asked if anyone had reached out to the Ohio Department of Transportation to see if the state had plans or information for that situation.

The sewer line services the rest area along with houses on Timberline Drive and Pine Meadows so there might be an opportunity to work with the state, Rutherford said.

The Streets Committee discussed a land slip on the hill by Maple Street Extension at the High and Bellevue Street intersection.

Public Works Superintendent Chris Hess said a 138-foot-long sandstone structure is collapsing and could potentially fall onto the houses below. Hess said the land is already falling down the hill and there is potential for the rest of it to slip.

“We’ve closed the street just to avoid any vibration from traffic until repairs can be made,” he said. “The construction would consist of a total of $71,264.”

Hess said the sandstone has been deteriorating for some time and asked if it was possible to move the project forward.

Members agreed to have an emergency city council meeting at 6 p.m. Monday in the Armory so the project can be addressed in a timely manner.

“If we’re gonna do the work, let’s do it right,” said Hess.

Tree Commission Chairman Grady Smith asked the public to donate money to the William E. McKinney Memorial Tree Fund through the Marietta Community Foundation. The donations would help support the commission and provide services like purchasing, planting and maintenance of trees.

Amber Phipps can be reached at aphipps@newsandsentinel.com