Tests will show if Sunrise sewer mound can be rebuilt

By Anya Tikka
SUNRISE LAKES — The Sunrise Lakes Property Owners Association is raising the alarm about sewage problems at the housing development.

A letter dated Jan. 28 and addressed to Sunrise Lake property owners in the Section 9 Sewer and Well Association states: “There’s a problem with one of the two sewer absorption mounds that handle the water discharged from your septic systems.”

Previously, Dingman Township officials had not confirmed rumors about sewage problems at Sunrise. And then in late January, Dingman sewage enforcement officer Chris Wood said one of the sewage filtering mounds had started to leak.

The Jan. 28 letter goes on to say that when the property owners association took over management of the subdivision from the developer, it wasn’t informed of any sewer or well problem but discovered the problem only after one of the mounds in section 9 started to leak and had to be shut down. As a result, all sewer discharge had to be handled by one mound not designed for that capacity. The letter said it's not known how long the problem has existed.

The property owners association hired a contractor who repaired the damaged mound, which is now working correctly. But in the meantime, the letter says, the other mound handling all the discharge has been damaged and is malfunctioning.

“The waste water is not being absorbed into the ground at the rate needed to operate properly,” the letter says.

Wood, Appletree Management representative Bob Ferri, and "the contractor who’s been working on the sewer systems" met with the property owners on Jan. 27, the letter says. They dug four holes into the mound and, after examining the soil, told property owners to have an engineer test a sample to determine if the mound could be rebuilt. Once that work is done, the letter says, the property owners will be contacted about the next step.

A resident who asked not to be identified told the Courier that the sewer mound was built on top of wetlands, and backed his claim by showing a survey drawing. The mound should never have been built there, he said, and Pennsylvania law now prohibits it from being repaired. The resident said the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection shut down the mound, and demanded that the soil be tested. The state communicates with him through an environmental firm "hired to represent us," he said. He believes the DEP is unbiased.

The resident says the mound has contaminated wells and the lake because the soil just cannot absorb the wastewater.

“It’s impossible for the soil to do it, thus the sewer water just goes into the lake or shoots into the land polluting the environment,” he said.