In Johnstown, Pa. and surrounding Areas the DEP is forcing homeowners to conduct an inspection tracking where water from dounspouts are going to before they allow the sale of a property. As they say that “the overflow from these homes, tapped into the sanitary sewage systems.”
The Department of Environmental Protection, (DEP) according to reliable sources “is mandating that municipalities pass ordinances that require homeowners to test their properties to insure the downspouts are not being directed to the sewer system.”
Unfortunately some homeowners are not aware of the new ordinance, so sadly, the Realtors have to inform them. You can only imagine the rest.
Charles Brethauer, manager of Compliance & Monitoring at the Southwest Regional office of DEP, said that the overflow from the rain and the water from these older homes, can also cause back-ups in basements, sewage coming out of manholes and sewage getting into streams.
For municipalities that don’t comply, legal action from DEP & EPA might be the answer as well as putting moratorium new taps that limit new construction in the Area….
I wonder if our local Area might have these issues and may follow suit?