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August 21, 2002
Willow Glen, California Since 1992 |
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Merchants complain about sewer odor on Lincoln Ave.
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I-chun Che
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A sewage odor has pervaded Lincoln Avenue
since last winter. Pedestrians hold their
breath when passing the drains. Restaurant
owners are complaining that their business
has been affected because the smell has
appalled potential customers who prefer to
sit outside and enjoy the breeze.
Jim Latter, owner of Sharky's Oyster Bar
& Grill, 1151 Lincoln Ave., said he has
noticed the odor since he put out two tables
in front of his restaurant in April.
"The smell usually comes in waves," said
Latter, who opened Sharky's in February. "It
gets worse when it is hot."
Since his restaurant has no air conditioning,
Latter has to keep the door open.
"Customers can hardly smell anything inside
the restaurant, but the odor is unbearable
outside," Latter added.
David Belardi, owner of Baskin-Robbins, 1060
Willow St., said he has noticed the odor
coming from the drain at the entrance of his
parking lot since he started his business in
June.
In response to residents' concerns, the San
Jose Department of Transportation (DOT)
vacuumed the sewer and cleaned the storm
drains along Lincoln Avenue several times
early this year. But the odor has always
returned within a few weeks.
After a thorough investigation, the DOT
discovered that the odor resulted from a
1-foot-tall wall blocking a storm line near
Willow Street.
"Even though the odor is more prevalent near
Minnesota Avenue, we believe this is the
source because it causes water to stagnate up
the line to Minnesota Avenue," said Qiming
Huang, sanitary engineer of the DOT.
Huang said the wall is a bulkhead, a physical
barricade that is usually placed when a line
is abandoned or installed during construction
work to stop the flow. After consulting with
the San Jose Public Works Department (PWD),
sanitation workers determined that the wall
had been installed for a project many years
ago and had not removed.
The PWD decided to remove the wall after
evaluating the site. With the PWD's approval,
the DOT's sanitation workers plan to take out
the bulkhead within two weeks. But Huang said
removing the wall will be difficult.
San Anzaldua, supervisor of the DOT's sewer
repair crew, said, "We need to determine the
exact location of the wall. We can't just rip
up the ground and dig a hole. But hopefully
we can remove the wall within two weeks and
get rid of the odor."
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