Columbia Sewer Utility proposes new public sewer for West Stewart road area

COLUMBIA, Mo. 

The City of Columbia Sewer Utility is proposing to replace a privately maintained sewer system near the intersection of West Boulevard South and West Stewart Road.

If approved, the utility would construct a new public sanitary sewer to serve the affected property owners.

The project is part of the city’s ongoing Private Common Collector Elimination program, which started in 2008. Private common collectors are major sources of stormwater inflow and infiltration into the sewer system, and the city says replacing outdated private sewers helps prevent backups and overflows.

“This project is more preventive maintenance,” Columbia Utilities spokesman Jason West said in an email. “There have not been any major issues yet, but these private common collector systems can cause bigger problems because the city is not able to properly maintain them. The PCCE program helps the city perform regular maintenance to hopefully avoid major problems down the road.”

Since 2008, the PCCE program has included multiple projects throughout the city, though officials do not have a total cost available for all 18 years of work. Currently, the city is working on nine PCCE projects, with at least five more planned.

“The overall system is functioning well and as intended,” West said. “While there are newer parts that are functioning at a high level, we are also focused on repairing and updating older parts such as this one to keep the system functioning properly.”

The city is set to host a public meeting to discuss the proposed sewer improvements on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. in Conference Room 1A at City Hall.