That led to an at-times-contentious meeting on Dec. 29 between homeowners and WSSC officials in one resident’s living room and, eventually, to restoration work on Poplar Avenue that homeowner David Rowland said might not have happened if not for the petition. The project was part of WSSC’s regionwide effort to replace 5,300 miles of sewer pipeline, most of which was built in the 1940s and 1950s. The work on Poplar Avenue ran through last month.
“I think, had we not done that, we would have been left with damage unrepaired because that’s where it was headed,” Rowland said. “It was an interesting thing that we had to go to that level to get them to pay attention.”
WSSC construction manager Mike Trail said the work of the contractor and its subcontractor, Rivers Construction, wasn’t up to par and numerous items — restoration, sediment control and site cleanliness — were not in conformance with the organization’s standard specifications. Scott Stangle, branch manager of Reynolds Inliner’s Maryland branch office, said the disruptions are typical in sewer main replacement work, which requires digging a large trench close to peoples’ properties.
“That’s part of the normal process of this work. I wouldn’t call it damage. When you go in and replace a sewer, that’s going to disturb roadway,” Stangle said. “There were some challenges on that street. There’s a gas line, waterline and power line, and we were working to do our best not to disrupt those utilities.”
Stangle added that restoration costs are included in sewer replacement contracts. It’s standard for contractors to take photographs of residents’ front yards before work begins to accurately replace grass or mulch from flower beds that are damaged.
Last week, contractors began restoration work. They put mulch down on Rowland’s front yard, though Rowland said plants that were dug up are unlikely to survive. Rivers Construction damaged the water service to his home last month and replaced a piece of pipe within 24 hours. Rowland said he was not informed.
A few doors down, workers patched up a driveway and put straw on a number of residents’ front yards. Stangle said they would apply grass seed when the weather improves. The road can’t be repaved until temperatures consistently are above 40 degrees, Trail said at the meeting.
WSSC spokesman I.J. Hudson said the organization is examining its contractor policies, but incidents such as the one on Poplar Avenue are rare. WSSC provides water and sewer service in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, serving about 1.8 million people.
Two years ago, WSSC created a customer advocate position to deal with complaints from residents.
“People always have concerns. When people are working in your neighborhood, you have a certain expectations, and sometimes it doesn’t come out exactly the way you thought,” Hudson said. “If you run a business, it’s hard to make everybody happy. You try to be a good citizen. You talk to them about it and make sure to fix any problems.”
Stangle disagreed with WSSC’s conclusion that his company’s work was not up to standards. But he acknowledged that better communication with homeowners could be a priority in future projects.
“It wasn’t that this was an unforeseen situation. It was more of a communication issue with these particular homeowners,” Stangle said. “Improving the infrastructure is the ultimate goal. We’re going to talk to residents so that they understand the implications of these projects.”
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