LIVERMORE FALLS – Selectmen voted to have the sewer line on Sewall Street inspected with a video camera before they decide whether to replace the line.

Voters approved borrowing up to $250,000 to do sewer work on some streets where the Livermore Falls Water District had replaced water mains. Sewall and Oak streets were added to the sewer project after the bond was approved.

Sewer Superintendent Kent Mitchell said the money was to be used to do the worst sewer lines and still maintain the same sewer rates.

The sewer line on Oak Street had to be replaced during the water project because it was in such bad shape it kept breaking, Mitchell said.

That line cost $50,000 to $55,000 to replace, which meant it had to come out of reserve, Mitchell told selectmen Monday night.

Mitchell said the $20,000 selectmen voted to take from the Sewer Department reserve account to pay for the replacement of the Sewall Street sewer line wouldn’t cover the cost, which would be about $50,000.

He said that if $50,000 was taken out of the $89,000 reserve account, it would leave the reserve at $39,000, which would be dangerously low. It would also go against auditor’s recommendations of keeping three months of operating costs in reserve. That would equal $90,000.

The first half of Sewall Street’s line was previously replaced, Mitchell said, and the latter half, which appeared in good shape when water lines were replaced, only has six houses on it, and should be done at some point and time, but he did not think it was an immediate need.

He recommended saving the reserve in case there was an emergency situation with the town’s aging sewer system.

“Our sewer lines are quite precarious,” he said.

Mitchell also added that the Main Street sewer line is in bad shape and would cost millions of dollars to replace. The town has been guaranteed some money to help with the project but it would not cover all expenses.

Matt Timberlake of Ted Berry Co., Inc. tested a new camera system and checked out a section of the sewer line on Main Street at no cost to the town, Town Manager Martin Puckett said.

In the coversheet of Timberlake’s report, he wrote, “As you can see in the reports the sewer lines are at or near failure in several areas. I would recommend an immediate repair of the section from manhole M3 to M4 to prevent collapse and complete failure.”

According to the sketch in the report, M3 is just south of Reynolds Avenue and M4 is near Richardson Avenue. Among the deficiencies in that line are cracks, holes, breaks and obstructions.

The town is waiting to do the Main Street project when the state does reconstruction of the road, work that has been postponed several times because of the expense of getting opening permits and not having the money available to do it alone.

Selectman Louise Chabot said the reality is the $89,000 reserve is never going to cover any major repairs on Main Street.

Mitchell said that if reserves are low rates have to be raised.

If the remaining $40,000 of the $102,000 taken by former sewer clerk Faith Nichols, who got out of jail last week, was repaid that would boost the reserve.

Selectmen asked about raising sewer rates and Mitchell said he would run some figures and get back to them.