New Kensington is seeking bids to fix a sewage-flooded hole that has been declared a public nuisance.
“We are actively trying to fix this problem,” said City Clerk Dennis Scarpiniti. “We’re aware of it, and we’re doing our due diligence.”
The hole is in Moss Alley in the Parnassus area of New Kensington, between Fifth and Sixth streets and Fifth and Sixth avenues.
Scarpiniti said the issue started months ago with a sanitary sewer repair on private property, making it the owner’s responsibility to address and not the city’s.
“Give them credit — they tried,” he said.
But the property owner stopped work, Scarpiniti said, “and now we have an open hole.”
A woman who answered the door at the property owner’s house on Thursday declined to comment.
The Municipal Sanitary Authority of the City of New Kensington is aware of the situation, said its solicitor, Larry Loperfito. The authority is not responsible for anything regarding the situation, he said.
“This is a private lateral issue,” Loperfito said. “This is not a MSANK line. We do not have the authority to go out to repair and lateral for a private individual.
“It is our understanding the city of New Kensington is working with the homeowner to get this resolved.”
Loperfito said it’s also his understanding the situation arose as a result of an issue between the homeowners and their contractor.
“This situation seems to have gotten out of control and the homeowners — it appears they want to do anything they can to cooperate with the city of New Kensington,” he said. “It’s been a struggle for those people.”
Over the months, the hole has grown to about 12 by 14 feet and filled with sewer water, trash and other debris.
Neighbors say the hole is a public health hazard, it stinks and it is dangerous to people and animals in the area.
The hole has gotten so big that the alley is impassable to traffic and neighbors fear that, if nothing is done, it will get worse.
New Kensington declared the hole a public nuisance so it could move forward to fix it, Scarpiniti said. The city engineer, Tony Males, rejected one bid to do the work because it was much higher than what he estimated it should be, Scarpiniti said. He declined to estimate what the cost of the project could be.
The city expected to receive more bids for the work Thursday, Scarpiniti said.