By Meg Peters
Review Co-Editor
Lake Orion Village resident Natalie Dazersa had to pull her kids out of their piano and gymnastics classes in order to help pay for a $21,000 sewer lead break.
The break, located outside of her property line on Lake St., occurred about 25 feet below the surface level of the road in January.
Costs will affect her family’s standard of life for at least the next couple of years, she said.
‘My insurance doesn’t cover it, because it is outside my property. The village won’t cover it because it is our responsibility for anything that happens from the main pipe to our property,? she said. ‘It’s a gray area.?
Dazersa approached the village council in January after there were sewage back-ups in her house.
She presented a formal presentation in February defining each of the costs for the repairs?$18,000 for the excavation and sewer lead replacement and about $2,500 to re-pave the road.
‘We should have some village help, especially since we are paying double taxes,? she said. ‘I think the village should be responsible for anything on their property.?
Her debate sparked interest within the council to consider providing an insurance program on an individual basis for the repair and/or replacement of sewer leads to private buildings.
Members spoke on the issue at the last regular council meeting.
To go that route, President Ken Van Portfliet said council would need to determine what type of endorsement an insurance company could utilize to ensure the maximum amount of interest in the community.
But the question still remains.
‘Is it the responsibility of the village for water and sewer lead repairs?? he asked council members. ‘The verbiage in our current ordinance is vague.?
In Hartland Township it is the property owners? responsibility. Same for Clawson, Ann Arbor, Frankenmuth, Coldwater, Dewitt, Hartford, Marshall, Ludington, Sault Saint Marie, North Muskegon, Munising, Essexville, Lathrup Village, Caro, Crystal Falls, Scottville and Fremont.
In the Village of Sparta the property owner is also responsible for total costs of repairs to their sewer leads, however, the village pays for street repairs up to the sewer main if the main is located under the road.
In the City of Evart, it is the city’s responsibility from the sewer main to the city’s right of way, and the homeowner’s responsibility from the right of way to the home.
Many of these communities also offer an insurance program, Van Portfliet said, of which they gave ‘glowing reports.?
Village Manager Darwin McClary recommended that council amend ordinance village ordinance 51.09 to directly state whether it is the village’s or the property owner’s responsibility to repair/replace individual sewer leads.
‘MCL 123.742(2)(c) permits the county or a contracting municipality to charge property owners for property connections to the public sewer system.? An individual sewer lead services a single property and does not benefit anyone else other than that property,? he said.
After witnessing Dazersa’s costs, however, council is now considering establishing a policy that would make the village responsible for individual sewer connections from the sewer lateral to the private property line, he said.
The amendment would require the property owner to be responsible for their sewer lead from their property line to their home.
‘We are here to be creative and innovative to try and work for the citizen as best we can,? Van Portfliet said.
John Ranville felt similarly.
‘I just feel that individual homeowners can’t be responsible for a lead on the other side of their home or road,? President Pro-Tem Ranville said. ‘How can we ask a homeowner to be responsible for anything that’s not on their property??
If the village were to take sole responsibility in repairing the 1,200 sewers leads in the 45-year-old sewer system it would cost about $12 million.
‘That’s assuming we could spread those costs over a 50 year period,? McClary said.
To make the repairs, the village would have to charge customers an extra $200 per year on each water and sewer bill, an ‘optimistic estimate.?
The village could also opt to pay for repairs outside of the homeowner’s property line, such as with the case of Dazersa’s costs.
The other option, still under debate, would be to offer an insurance program to village residents to cover potential sewer lead repairs.
A representative from the National League of Cities Service Line Warranty Program, administered by Utility Service Partners Inc., presented to council members in March.
‘For both water and sewer, the insurance was about $180 a year. I would, as a homeowner, want to have that option before paying an additional $200,? Van Portfliet said.
Other council members voiced similar opinions.
‘Outside of insurance we still have an economic responsibility, so even if we feel like half of the costs should be the village’s responsibility, and half the owner’s, how would we pay for it?? Councilman Christian Mills said. ‘Offering insurance would probably be the right thing to do.?
The village has about $1.9 million available in the water and sewer fund for repairs.
Next steps are to re-write the ordinance to specify sewer lead repair responsibility and to determine an appropriate insurance policy that could be offered to village customers.
?[The insurance program] is still something I would look into if this were to happen again. I would defiantly tell other people they should get it as well,? Dazersa said.