Wiscasset Town Manager Dennis Simmons and Wastewater Treatment Plant Superintendent Robert Lalli told selectmen Aug. 4 about a sewage issue the town had been dealing with downtown, with sewage having escaped from properties on northbound Main Street.

"We've tried everything to correct this problem, (including) jetting the pipe ... and it's just going to require us to dig up the sidewalk and replace ...," Simmons said in introducing the topic. Then, Lalli asked to speak. 

Lalli said he would be meeting the next day with a plumber "who incorrectly piped the new plumbing" in the building that houses Treats, "into the storm drain" and who would be correcting that work. 

"Oh. So this is information that I didn't know," Simmons said, smiling. He added at another point, "That's probably the best news I've heard in several canine years." 

"I only found this out in the last hour," Lalli said. The plumber was getting parts that night, "because he's got to replumb it across the basement wall down there. He came across a four-inch connection that left the building and decided to hook up the sewage line from the second floor right to that. And that's what was producing sewage outside. So that is going to be fixed tomorrow," Lalli said.

Lalli and Public Works Director Ted Snowdon were on-site earlier Aug. 4, Lalli continued. "The plumbing from (nearby business) rock paper scissors seems to be fine ... There's a spot (that) needs to be rehabbed, have all the bricks put back and everything, but we have cones all around it at the moment."

Lalli also said, "It's because of Treats that this occurred (and) tomorrow that'll be fixed in Treats, so there won't be any more sewage possibly coming out on the street." He then again referred to the plumber's "mistake" and called the situation "the kerfuffle."

Wiscasset Newspaper does not know who the plummer was and so could not seek comment from the person. 

Aug. 5, Lalli deferred all comment on the sewage issue to Simmons. Also Aug. 5, Treats co-owner Emily Hughes referred Wiscasset Newspaper's questions to landlord Maxwell Sheldon and helped the newspaper reach Sheldon. Sheldon immediately responded, "We currently have limited information as we are still working to determine exactly what happened. However, based on what we know, this situation is entirely unrelated to Treats or any work they have done on their space.

"We sincerely regret this situation and are doing everything we can to help resolve it. The plumber who worked on the building is licensed, bonded, and insured, and will handle any associated costs or damages. We have also learned from the town and our neighbors that there are two other associated issues: a crushed or broken sewer pipe near the intersection of Main Street and Water Street, and the fact that all buildings on our side and block of Main Street are not properly connected to the main sewer line."

Wiscasset Newspaper sought confirmation and other information from Simmons, who replied: "We originally believed the reason that raw sewage was spewing out of the roof leader/gutters at Rock/Paper/Scissors (and a few days later at Curious Gifts) was because one of those businesses had their roof leaders and sump pumps ... connected to the sanitary sewer, and that a sanitary sewer backup or clog had forced sewage up out of the roof leaders onto the ground. Note that only Rock/Paper/Scissors and Curious Gifts were having this sewage problem.

"Ramsey Plumbing jetted the roof leaders at Rock/Paper/Scissors on several occasions in the last week or so, but ran into an obstruction, which was pinpointed by a radio signal. He was unable to get his camera or jetter hose past it. Curious Gifts also had their leaders jetted by another company, but they too ran into the same obstruction.

"Ramsey came and began digging at the obstruction spot in the brick sidewalk on Tuesday (Aug. 4), thinking there was a broken or collapsed pipe. He exposed an in-tact sanitary sewer pipe and a corrugated storm sewer pipe that also appeared in-tact. They were located beside each other at about 2’6” deep. Ted (Snowdon) and Earl Babcock of Public Works were present with me at the time," Simmons continued. 

"Ramsey put his camera into the sewer cleanout in the basement of Rock/Paper/Scissors and it indeed was clean and unobstructed to the sanitary sewer main, with no breakages or clogs seen.

"Then, after examining the galvanized storm pipe and seeing it ran at an angle down towards a storm grate against the curb on Main Street, a camera was slid into it. A few feet into the pipe, we could see it was jammed solid with rock and stone. That meant that the galvanized pipe was blocked solid for 30 feet. The pipe was not crushed down or collapsed. That was when Ted recalled that there was a storm pipe that was abandoned and that this was probably it. If so, the pipe was deliberately filled and blocked and that the water from the roof leaders and sump pumps were directed elsewhere. All previous attempts to actually see anything at the upstream obstruction, including other connected piping redirecting this flow, were unsuccessful because the camera was submerged."

Based on that statement, Wiscasset Newspaper has asked Simmons more questions, including who abandoned the storm pipe and around when; who deliberately filled the storm pipe, and must that have been recently since the spewing only occurred recently; and was this blockage the reason sewage spewed from the roof and gutters.

With any new information, this story will be updated.