Sewer line back-up at Collinsville Elementary results in unexpected construction, repairs

While Collinsville Elementary undergoes construction for a new addition (part of a bond passed in 2024), the district wasn’t expecting to be doing any major renovations on the current building.

But after a Gallagher construction worker noticed sewage backing up into the building on June 24, that’s just what the district had to do.

The trouble  actually began on May 22. While installing new fiber internet lines, Frontier workers hit the sewer line that comes out of the building.

The company repaired the damage, unbeknownst to the district, who then ran an auger through the line.

It is believed that during this process, the back flow valve located at the junction where the district line meets the city line was damaged.

At the location where the sewer line exits the elementary school, the line is about four inches lower than the main sewer line.

A back flow valve helps to defy gravity and keeps the sewage from running back into the building. Without that valve, there is nothing to keep the sewage from flowing back into the building.

And that’s what workers discovered about an hour or so after the issue made itself known.

Now, six classrooms are without carpet, two bathrooms no longer exist (toilets, sinks and tile have all been removed), walls have been taken down to the studs and the main hallway is missing four feet of tile and two feet of sheetrock.

“Pretty much anything that was touched by sewage has been removed from the building,” Collinsville Superintendent Matthew Davenport said.

While insurance will pay for most of the damage, the district will definitely have to pay its deductible.

“The demolition alone was $100,000,” Davenport said. “Insurance will cover most of that, but we haven’t fully determined yet what the financial implications of this will be.”

But there is good news in all of this. 

“We’ll now be able to match the walls of our current hallways to the halls of the new addition,” Davenport said. “You have to find the silver lining, right?”

Even better news is that Grayson Restoration Company (who arrived on scene the very next day) feels confident they can have the reconstruction finished in time for school to start.

“Teachers show up on July 28,” Davenport said. “Our goal is to have everything done by then. The work isn’t the concern. It’s the availability of the supplies -- tile and flooring -- that could be the hold-up.”

This isn’t the first time this problem has occurred. In fact, it’s the second time in the last three years. This time around, Davenport wanted a long-term solution to prevent this from happening again.

The school district’s architect, engineer and construction team met with the city’s Public Works director, city manager and engineer and the groups put their heads together.

Ultimately, it was determined that the district would put in a new line where the district’s line meets the city line, located five feet down and 12 feet at the end of the road.

They replaced the old clay pipe with more substantial materials and put a manhole with a drop line at the existing building (a plan that was already in the works). 

The city has agreed to expedite whatever plans and work needs to be put into motion to complete the project in time for the new school year.

“I’m just really grateful that the city and the ISD could come together and work together to get this done,” Davenport said. “I feel confident this is the long-term solution needed so that this doesn’t happen again.”