South Macadam Sewer Repair—Sweeney to Mitchell

Sewer and Stormwater
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Environmental Services has completed a project to repair 1,080 feet of aging, large-diameter public sewer pipe in the South Portland Neighborhood. Repairs will increase the sewer’s resiliency, extend its service life for 50 years or more, and help prevent sewage releases.
Construction was completed February 2022.
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Project Area

Aboveground construction activities were concentrated at existing manholes in S Macadam Avenue between S Sweeney and S Mitchell streets, and in S Sweeney between S Macadam and S Kelly avenues.

Project Accomplishments

  • Inspected and repaired 1,069 feet of mainline public sewer pipes.
  • Cleared roots and flushed debris from 1,069 feet of public sewer pipes.
  • Investigated 19 public sewer service laterals to locate where adjacent buildings were connected to the public sewer.
  • Installed 3 service lateral cleanouts to provide bypass sewer service during the pipe lining process and to provide access for future sewer maintenance activities.

A Note of Appreciation

On behalf of the project team, we’d like to express special appreciation to all neighbors. We know that construction was disruptive - especially over the past 19 months during the COVID-19 pandemic. We know that many households and families have been homebound during the pandemic and that the daily construction noise, vibration, and general disruption were probably more difficult to cope with than in normal times.  Thanks for bearing with us, and thank you especially for working with us to help keep crews and our community safe.

Construction Methods

Crews will use two trenchless sewer construction methods called Spiral Wound Pipe Lining and Cured-in-Place-Pipe Lining (CIPP) that requires little or no digging.

  • Spiral Wound Lining: Spiral Wound Pipe Lining involves inserting a flexible liner strip inside the existing pipe and sealing the edges of the strip together to form a liner inside the pipe. The liner essentially forms a smooth surface inside the existing pipe, restoring it to near-new condition.

  • Cured-in-Place-Pipe Lining (CIPP): Through a manhole, the contractor inserts a flexible liner into the old pipe. The liner hardens, creating a new interior lining. You may smell an odor like plastic or glue during this process from the liner resin.