Council to consider emergency pipe lining near reclamation plant

MARIETTA -- Marietta City Council will hold three special meetings next week to consider repairs to a deteriorating pipe near the city's water reclamation plant.

The meetings are scheduled for 5:15 p.m. Monday and 5:30 p.m Tuesday and Wednesday.

Safety Service Director Steve Wetz said the issue has not caused a new sinkhole. However, inspections found erosion along the top of a pipe similar to the damage that led to a sinkhole late last year.

Using cameras to inspect the pipe, city officials determined it could eventually collapse if left unaddressed, Wetz said.

"We're better to go ahead and get ahead of it and get a liner put in it before we get to the point of collapse and a sinkhole," he said.

Wetz said the meetings were scheduled quickly because Insituform, the company that performs the pipe-lining work, is already in the area. Approving the work while the company is present could allow the city to avoid paying an additional mobilization fee for them to return later.

"It's being proactive before a potential collapse," Wetz said.