WHITESBORO –– Residents in this community will soon be getting rid of their old septic tanks and gaining a new municipal sewer system.
To that end, representatives from Middle Township appeared before the township zoning board May 8 for permission to construct a sanitary sewer pump station here on Wildwood Avenue.
The facility would consist of a one-story 20 by 28 foot brick building surrounded by a wooden plank fence.
According to Kathleen K. Meers, director of the municipal sewer department, the township has been pursuing a sewer system in Whitesboro for six years.
The township requested a use variance for a deviation from the conditional use standard in the suburban residential zone in which the property lies. Public utilities are permitted, but only as a conditional use.
The project required variances for lot area and fence height also.
Several neighbors of the proposed site objected to the project.
They said they were worried that the building would block site lines and the safety of children in the area would be compromised. They also thought the appearance of the facility would not be in character with the neighborhood.
The neighbors suggested moving the pump station to a wooded area down the street.
Meers said the proposed site is the most suitable for the facility because of its low-lying nature.
“Wastewater flows downhill from gravity so the pump station must be below the surrounding homes,” Meers told the zoning board.
She also said the facility would merely be “a roofline above a six-foot fence with landscaping.” She invited the neighbors to visit any of the 18 other similar stations throughout the township.
The other pump stations are located in Del Haven, Stone Harbor Boulevard, Avalon Manor, Rio Grande, Court House, Shunpike and Green Creek.
Meers said the township only provides collection services and no sewer treatment. So there would be no odors or discernable noise, she said.
Zoning Board Chairman James McLaughlin said he knew they were quiet from personal experience. He used to live next to the Mechanic Street pump station and hardly knew it was there, he said.
“This station would pump wastewater to Rio Grande and then to the Cape May County MUA’s (Municipal Utilities Authority) treatment center on Route 47,” she said. “We’ve never had any complaints of noise or odors at our other sites.”
Other collection stations send sewage to Lower Township MUA and the Seven Mile treatment facilities.
Aside from the building, the project would include installing sewer pipes in the streets with lateral hookups at the curb line to each residence.
The township receives federal funding for these sewer projects from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development program.
Meers said homeowners are responsible for the cost of the mandatory connection from their homes to the hookups. The county Health Department also requires homeowners to pump and close their septic systems, she said.
For those who can’t afford the hookups, funding for the connection costs is available through the state Department of Community Affairs Community Block Development Grant program, Meers said.
Anyone interested in the grants is asked to contact the township grants office at (609) 465-8731.
Meers said homeowners could also reduce their costs by forming a group to hire plumbers and contractors together.
The zoning board unanimously approved the township’s application.
Meers told the Herald the project would be going out to bid in the near future. Once the bids are accepted, she said residents would be given a rough construction schedule with work commencing in August, she hoped.
Contact Hart at (609) 886-8600 Ext 35 or at: jhart@cmcherald.com
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