Sewer construction continues in the Pine Grove Lakes neighborhood of Sloatsburg, including the bang of sudden rock blasting.
Some people in Pine Grove Lakes felt the blast Friday afternoon. Mid day there was a low loud bang – such as a big tree falling nearby – that reverberated throughout the neighborhood, from the low flatlands to higher up by Pine Grove Lake itself. Moments later, the pop of a smaller blast followed, but wasn’t nearly as foundation-shaking as the first.
Water from a broken pipe ran downhill and flooded a resident’s basement overnight in Pine Grove Lakes.
From a flooded out basement to popped water mains and even a cracked porcelain toilet, the sewer work in the Pine Grove Lakes neighborhood of Sloatsburg is not just thick with dust, strewn stones and bad roads. The old adage that you can’t make an omelet without breaking some eggs holds doubly true for sewer work in the hilly part of Sloatsburg that abuts Harriman State Park.
During sewer construction in other parts of the village, there were complaints of water main breaks that brought boil water alerts, all part of the sewer installation process, some village leaders have said. The various calls and cries that much of the rest of the village has experienced have come to the Grove, which has seen sewer work kick into high gear with blasting and digging up of streets.
The downside to the construction are stone-strewn streets and mini mogul runs as cars bump through the neighborhood.
As blasting has started in the neighborhood, residents should be aware of possible results of sewer work, which can sometimes be unexpected and significant, as one family discovered when it awoke to a flooded basement. Whether caused by a faulty United Water main or via Montana construction work that involved roadwork digging, the Pine Grove family was left in the lurch when a water main broke and water ran down hill throughout the night, flooding the family’s entire lower level.
With heavy equipment moving earth and digging deep trenches in roadways, and blasting commencing without much warning, residents should take precautions. Construction in Pine Grove Lakes is scheduled to continue through the fall of 2014. Residents that reside below street level might want to review their homeowners/hazard insurance policies to determine whether or not they’re covered for a sewer construction-related incident or damage, and even consider a flood rider until construction is complete.
Questions related to sewer construction can always be directed to the Western Ramapo Sewer Project, the village, or even the Pine Grove Lakes Homeowners Association.
