A sewer main in Burleson Heights will soon be lined to repair damage caused by age and soil movement.

The project will line about 635 linear feet of 8-inch sewer pipe that start at a manhole at 2802 Ware Road and continue downhill to a manhole in the 2600 block of Princeton Drive. The pipe runs under the street on Princeton and in an easement on private property on Ware and Princeton.

Damage was first discovered during routine inspections in 2008, when crews ran robotic cameras through the lines and found that the walls of the pipe have thinned. On a priority scale of 1 to 3, the repairs were a priority 3, meaning the pipe would be proactively repaired through an ongoing project of the Austin Water Utility, said project coordinator Ronnie Whatley.

Two weeks ago, a subcontractor flushed the pipe, removed tree roots and inspected with a camera. Next, international company Insituform Technologies will line the pipe by impregnating a felt tube with resin, inserting it into the damaged pipe, and using steam or hot water to cook the resin, resulting in something similar to a new PVC sewer pipe, Whatley said. Insituform, which has been doing these projects for the city for about six years, will then cut openings in the new liner where homes’ sewer services connect with the main pipe.

Two other segments of sewer main that run through the bed of Country Club Creek near Pleasant Valley Road will also be lined soon.

Work could begin as soon as the first week of April, and affected homes will see a door hanger with additional information about 24 hours in advance. Residents should not experience much inconvenience, Whatley says, but he recommends pouring some water down your drains to fill the P traps, which will keep a plasticlike smell from entering your home.

So have you ever thought about where your sewage goes?

In Burleson Heights, it travels downhill to the sewer pipe in the bed of Country Club Creek, then heads east to the South Austin Regional Treatment Plant, east of Texas 130 and north of Texas 71. There the water is filtered and disinfected, then discharged into the Colorado River.  

The sludge makes its way to nearby Hornsby Bend Biosolids Management Plant, where it is treated to kill pathogens and composted with yard trimmings to make Dillo Dirt, a product that adds organic matter back to the soil in yards and landscapes throughout Central Texas. Hornsby Bend also has a bird observatory that has been a bird-watcher’s paradise since the 1950s.

More information: Contact project coordinator Ronnie Whatley at 512-972-2058 or Ronnie.Whatley@austintexas.gov.

Update: Lining has been scheduled for May 7 and is expected to be completed in one day, Whatley says. If there is a 30 percent or greater chance of precipitation, work will be rescheduled.