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Thursday, April 09, 1998     Page: 4A

Resident complains about sewer lines
   
**SEE FOR THE RECORD 4/10/98
    A borough resident Wednesday night complained that faulty sewer lines
caused her basement to flood during a recent rainstorm.
   
Maria Brzozowski of First Street told council the damage was severe and
expressed frustration with borough officials and the Wyoming Valley Sanitary
Authority. She said authority workers “laughed and left” her home and told her
the sewer lines are not their responsibility.
   
Solicitor Charles Bufalino pledged to contact the authority to find out who
is responsible for maintaining the lines.
   
Council President Clem Zekoski said the sewer system is about 78 years old
and consists of one 6-inch line. He said sewers began backing up into
residents’ basements in 1973, when catch basins were installed. During storms,
the basins channel rainwater from streets into the sewer line, which cannot
handle the excess.
   
He told a packed council chamber that the borough cannot afford to replace
sewer lines.
   
Mayor Robert DiPietro called on the borough to purchase equipment such as a
pump, a chain saw, cones and street barriers that could help residents during
an emergency. “Just because the problem existed doesn’t mean it has to exist.”
   
In other business:
   
Council plans to vote on an ordinance to raise the pave-cut fee charged by
utilities from $25 to $75.
   
Council advertised a vacancy for a zoning board solicitor. Th