Sewage overflows into river during heavy rains April 22nd    5/8/00  
•An abutter to the planned Powder Mill Square project says a sewer overflow Saturday illustrates what could happen in the area bordering the Shawsheen River.

By Ethan Forman
Eagle-Tribune Writer

ANDOVER —Heavy rains Saturday morning caused two sewer manhole covers to blow, in a lot off North Main and Stevens streets, spilling raw sewage into the Shawsheen River.
   The manhole covers, which sit near the riverbank, are located in an area where developers plan to build the Powder Mill Square rental housing and medical office complex, a project some abutters oppose.
   "Around 10:30 a.m., I saw some water running into the river, and I thought it was runoff," said Peter M. Hadley of 8 Joyce Terrace. Then, he said he noticed the water held more than runoff.
   Department of Public Works Director Jack Petkus said his department heard about the overflow late Saturday morning and called the state Department of Environmental Protection to report it. Mr. Petkus
said DEP officials told him residents had reported the York Street area sewer pumping station was not working, something Mr. Petkus said was false.
   Officials do not try to stop the sewage from coming up through manholes, even when raw sewage is being released.
   "You just let it blow," said Mr. Petkus yesterday. "The thing is, you don't want to lock it down."
   If a manhole cover is not allowed to release the overflow, raw sewage could flow into homes.
   "It's not an uncommon occurrence during high water flows," Mr. Petkus said. The swollen Shawsheen River, which had not crested its banks as of yesterday evening, would dilute any environmental impact from the sewage, he said.
   The 24-inch diameter sewer line, which is buried 3 feet deep, handles much of the town's sewage as it heads towards Lawrence and the Greater Lawrence Sanitary District system.
   The Department of Public Works has returned the manhole covers, Mr. Petkus said. Workers will spread bleach if necessary.
   Mr. Petkus said the proposed development would not impact sewer overflows in the future, as some abutters fear.
   "In all honesty, this has nothing to do with it," Mr. Petkus said.
   But Mr. Hadley, who has appealed the Conservation Commission's approval of Powder Mill Square to the DEP, said the sewage overflow illustrates what could happen when the development is built.
   "If the Powder Mill is there, and it's raining, the same thing is going to happen," he said.
As part of the plans for the complex, the lower story of a two-story garage will hold flood water in case the Shawsheen overflows its banks.
   The lower story will provide parking for the medical office building, which would have to be evacuated until the garage is cleaned in the event of flooding. Mr. Hadley has said the plan puts people heading to a medical office building in harm's way.