Fact Sheet

I. Introduction

A sanitary sewer overflow bypass pipe was recently installed at the Somerset Raritan Valley Sewerage Authority (SRVSA) metering station, which is located south of Southside Avenue, in Bridgewater, NJ. The purpose of the bypass pipe is to temporarily allow for the direct discharge of untreated sewage into the Raritan River when the conveyance capacity of the sanitary sewer main is exceeded due to extreme wet weather events.

The temporary bypass pipe will be eliminated once a proposed wet weather wastewater treatment plant is constructed by the SRVSA and is operational. The bypass pipe is intended to reduce the frequency of a sanitary sewer overflow (SSO) occurring at the sanitary sewer manhole located at the end of Central Avenue, adjacent to the Peters Brook, in Somerville, NJ. The SSO occurring at this manhole adversely impacts Peters Brook and the adjacent park (during flooding events).

The sanitary sewer overflow bypass pipe received permits from the NJDEP and was installed by the SRVSA.

II.  SSO Bypass Pipe Location

As briefly mentioned above, the SRVSA has a sanitary sewer flow metering facility adjacent to the Raritan River. The metering facility is accessed by a gated driveway which is located at the southern end of the gravel parking lot. The gravel parking lot serves Southside Field (e.g. Chambres Park), which is located on the other side of Southside Avenue. The metering facility is secured by a fence and the SSO pipe was installed approximately 20 feet from river bank.

III. Contact Information

For additional information, please contact the Borough’s Sewer Engineer, Michael Cole, mcole@mcoleandassociates, (609) 306-2877.