ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, April 4, 1996 TAG: 9604050045
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: E-14 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHARLES STEBBINS STAFF WRITER
On Christmas Eve when Karen and Stephen Melton's toilet wouldn't flush and sewage backed up into their bathtub, they knew they had a problem.
They wondered if the trouble was in lines on their property or in the sewer line in the street.
They never expected the bigger problem they discovered.
The Meltons had been paying the city of Roanoke for sewer service since they bought their house at 906 Caldwell St. N.W. in 1989. But in trying to resolve the Christmas Eve problems, they discovered their house is not connected to the city sewer line. It's connected to a septic system in their yard.
``We have been paying Roanoke a sewer service charge for the last six or seven years," Karen Melton said.
After discovering the septic system, Karen Melton asked the city for a refund. But, she said, city officials told her they could refund only for the past three years because payment records were kept only for that time.
Karen Melton said she did not have records to prove earlier payments.
``Everybody at the city I talked to were polite and sympathetic,'' she said, ``but they said they were bound by the three-year rule.''
After investigating the situation, however, Dana Long, acting chief of the city Billing and Collections Department, agreed to refund payments for five years, which she thinks is almost the full amount the Meltons paid in sewer service charges.
That amounts to a little over $500, and Karen Melton said she and her husband were satisfied.
But that was not the end.
The Meltons could not find a plumber to unclog the septic system. No plumber would undertake the job because there is a deck covering part of the septic tank and drainage field, Karen Melton said.
Her husband Stephen and a friend had to do the job themselves. It required considerable digging, but the trouble was finally found to be a clogged distribution box.
All the digging, said Karen Melton, turned their back yard into a mud hole.
``We had to do something about it.''
What they did, however, led to another problem.
A dump truck bringing in gravel backed into a corner of the house, causing about $600 in damage.
``Insurance will cover it,'' she said, ``but it was just another worry along with everything else.''
Even though the septic system works, Melton said she would like to connect to the city sewer. But, she said, it is too expensive.
``It probably would cost over $2,000 to connect to the sewer line,'' she said. ``We can't afford that.''
Most of the cost would go toward paying for a backhoe to dig a trench, pipe from the house to the sewer line and labor.
Melton said she and her husband are grateful the city is not pushing them to connect.
``They are letting us stay on the septic system unless we have a major problem,'' Stephen Melton said.
Phillip Schirmer, a civil engineer with the city, said the city does not force connections if a septic system works properly.
Even though their troubles have been frustrating, Karen Melton said one of her main concerns is whether any neighbors are in the same situation.
``I wonder if any of them are paying the sewer fee but are still on a septic tank,'' she said.
The Meltons live in Edgewood, an area off Melrose Avenue just west of Peters Creek Road.
Houses in the area date to the 1920s, and at one time all of them had individual septic systems. In the 1960s, Roanoke County installed sewer lines and many of the houses connected at that time. But some did not.
When Roanoke annexed the area in 1976, more houses connected to the septic systems, but not all.
It could not be determined for certain how the Meltons' house got listed in the records as connected to the city sewer system.
Robert H. Bird, city auditor, has a clue, however.
Bird, who talked to Karen Melton when she was seeking a refund, said city records show that alteration permits were issued for the Meltons' house in 1981 and that the owner at that time applied to the city for water service. Apparently through a clerical error, the property also was signed onto the sewer system, he said. The sewer fee is based on the amount of water used, and property owners who have both services get a combined bill.
The Meltons' case is rare, Bird said, and he does not think any other property in that area is in the same situation.
The city utilities department has done extensive checking in recent years, he said, and found houses connected to the sewer line whose owners were not paying the monthly service fee.
A random check of some residents in the Meltons' neighborhood failed to turn up anyone who was uncertain whether their property was on the sewer line or a septic system.
Ernest L. Caldwell, who lives at 5012 Springfield Ave., said he is sure his house is connected to the sewer.
He also said he is sure the house next door to him connected a few years ago, when the septic system got clogged beyond repair.
Another resident, Luanne Carter at 5011 Springfield Ave., said her house is only 5 years old, and she is certain her house is on the city sewer system.
One house still on a septic system is owned by James and Mildred Quick at 804 Caldwell St.
Mildred Quick said they pay Roanoke for water service only.
``We checked that out long ago,'' she said.
LENGTH: Long : 106 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: STephen and Karen Melton thought their house wasby CNBconnected to the city sewer system and have been paying bills for
years. Now they find that the house has been on a septic system all
along.