The Coopersville City Council has tabled taking action on
getting involved in repairing the sewer lateral for a house located at 148
Main St. in Coopersville.

The city ordinance states that sewer laterals that run from the sewer
main to the homeowner’s house are the responsibility of the property owner, but
homeowners Don and Judy Knutson think the city should be responsible for the repair of their lateral because it was the city’s contractor who originally installed it in
1988.

The Knutsons said they have spent more than $2,000 since 2007 having the
lateral cleaned out only to learn this year that the six-inch pipe has sagged
in a 20-foot section which is causing the backups.

Tom Toogood, Judy Knutson’s brother, spoke to the Coopersville
City Council Monday night about the problem and asked the council for its help. “I
understand that laterals are supposed to be the responsibility of the homeowner,
but this lateral was put in by a city-paid contractor who ran the lateral 64
feet around he house when it could have been connected closer to the main,”
Toogood said. “Is it right for the homeowner to have to pay for something that
the city did?”

The lateral was installed in 1988, when the city separated its
storm and sanitary sewer systems and connected homeowners to the new sanitary sewer
system. Toogood said his sister and brother-in-law finally had a company come
out this summer and run a camera through the lateral to see what the problem
was after years of thinking the lateral had been infiltrated with tree roots.

The camera showed the pipe had sagged at least 3 inches
causing sewage to back up in the system. The Knutsons said they first started having
sewer problems in 2001.

City Manager Steve Patrick said that he has gotten a quote to
repair the lateral of about $4,800. The quote was higher than normal because Main
Street will have to be cut open to replace and repair
the pipe.

Mayor Ken Bush said the problem with the city paying to
replace the lateral is that at the time the pipe was installed, it appeared to
be installed correctly. “It was inspected and approved and could have been good
for the next 10 years,” Bush said “It is hard to say what went wrong.”

Council member Charlie Vander Kolk, whose company, Van’s
Contracting, installs and repairs many of the laterals in the city, but did not
install this one – said that contractors typically warranty their work for a
year. “I do know if we decide to pay to replace this one, we will have several
calls the next day because there are lots of others in town just like this one,”
Vander Kolk said.

Brad Sprague, retired Coopersville Department of Public Works director, told the council that he personally inspected the
lateral at 148 Main St.
when it was installed and knows it was installed correctly. He also believes that
the lateral isn’t where it is shown on the drawing the Knutsons have provided
the council.

The City Council is expected to take up the issue again at
its Oct. 10 meeting, which starts at 7
p.m.