Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
When 8 to 10 inches of rain was dumped on parts of Bristol Township within hours on Monday, July 12, the wastewater treatment system was overwhelmed.
The township’s owned and operated wastewater treatment system, which has its plant off River Road, had many of its pumps go down and at least five pump stations were underwater, officials told LevittownNow.com.
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Despite being able to handle millions of gallons of water, the plant was simply overwhelmed, Township Manager Randee Elton said.
“That, unfortunately, caused a sewage backup in some homes and also a storm water backup,” she said.
Damage caused to residences is not covered by the township’s insurance because it was caused by an “act of God” and not negligence, Elton said.
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It is not known how many homes were impacted by the backup, but two readers who were impacted told this news organization they also suffered flooding in their homes.
Bristol Township’s wastewater system connects to those operated by Bristol Borough, the Bucks County Water and Sewer Authority, and the Lower Bucks County Joint Municipal Authority.
Council President Craig Bowen said the damage from the storm was extensive and overwhelmed the system.
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“It really was surreal,” he said of the amount of rain flooding into the system.
Elton said the township worked to attempt to keep up with the overwhelming amount of rain, including bringing in contractors for assistance and hand operating pumps.
The township has been improving the wastewater system and plant in recent years. An expansion that is designed to handle more capacity is in the works.
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In addition, according to Elton, the township is looking at making sure the aging pump stations are better protected from flash flooding.
“The township is looking into flooding mitigation grants and any other grant funding to raise the electric for all pump stations in the 100-year floodplain to be outside of the floodplain elevation (which is 3 feet above the floodplain elevation) and also add generators, also to be placed above the floodplain elevation,” she said.
Tallies of the damage from the flooding are still being counted for submission to the state and federal government for potential disaster aid.
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Elton urged residents who suffered flood-related damage to report it to the township. Residents can call 267-812-2938 to make a report.
Officials have encouraged residents to take photos of the damage, keep documents, and save receipts.
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