A small contingent of Waldron Terrace residents met up at the Sloatsburg Village Hall Thursday night to listen and learn about the legend of incoming Sloatsburg sewers.

Both Rockland County Sewer District 1 Executive Director Dianne Phillipps and Assistant Director Mike Saber discussed the next phase of the Sloatsburg sewer project, which involves the Waldron Terrace neighborhood and additional streets surrounding Sloatsburg Elementary School.

Waldron Terrace will contain the main underground sewer trunk for Pine Grove Lakes, the neighborhood around Sloatsburg Elementary School and the Wadron Terrace neighborhood.

Saber said the Sewer District package for those areas is essentially completed but construction will not begin until the new Waldron Terrace bridge is completed. Bridge construction is expected to begin in the fall of this year. The old Waldron bridge that crossed Stony Brook at Seven Lakes Drive collapsed in the flood waters of Hurricane Irene. The bridge had repeatedly been cited as deficient and dangerous by inspectors in recent years, lacking sufficient embankment protection and providing minimal tolerable limits.

Saber said that the Sewer District anticipates completion of the bridge project in October, then the Waldron Terrace sewer work will begin. He  said that due to the unique geography of Waldron Terrace, which is a very narrow street that runs adjacent to the Ramapo River, the District expects sewer construction to last a minimum of six months.

“There are very few easy spots in this village,” Saber said about the long sewer installation process throughout the village.

While the District waits for the Waldron bridge construction, sewer work on the remaining areas around Sloatsburg Elementary School may begin. Those areas involve Washington Avenue, 1st and 2nd Streets and Fairchild Street.

Saber credited Rockland County Legislator for District 1 Doug Jobson for working to push for funding for both Waldron bridge and Sloatsburg sewer project.

Saber also said that during the sewer construction process, for Waldron and any other Sloatsburg area, contractors should work with residents to determine the best possible sewer line placement. Additionally, any yard or road damage will be fixed by the contractor but residents must contact the Sewer District to confirm the process and not rely on the contractor’s word. Saber said that contractors are expected to document construction areas with before-and-after photos and videos.

After the Waldron project is completed, the next Sloatsburg area targeted is Pine Grove Lakes and then the remaining outlying areas, which include the Ballard and Academy neighborhood, Liberty Rock, Upper 17, and Sebastian Court.

Sloatsburg Mayor Carl Wright and Village Trustees Peter Akey, Thomas Buckley and Dan O’Leary all attended the meeting. Saber said that any residents with sewer questions should call the Rockland County Sewer District 1.

Waldron Terrace bridge photo courtesy of LoHud.