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Member Kors stated that he could relate because he personally had trouble every <br />year with roots and stated that replacing the pipes at his home for the private <br />system portion made a huge difference. Mr. Sandstrom replied that replacing <br />private lines in conjunction with a city project can nearly cut the costs in half for <br />homeowners. Member Kors inquired how to better reach out to homeowners that <br />don't have as much experience or knowledge regarding the issue. Mr. Sandstrom <br />replied that letters are sent out in the fall prior to the spring pavement projects and <br />explained that they suggest homeowners at least televise their lines to see if there <br />are issues or not. He stated that they have helped review videos with homeowners <br />that do not know what they are looking for on the videos. He stated that televising <br />the sewer lines will be important going forward. <br />Chair Cihacek stated that televising the lines does give a piece of mind to both <br />home buyers and sellers. He inquired if the pipe liners would create any capacity <br />issues as the liners inevitably decrease the overall circumference of the pipe. Mr. <br />Sandstrom stated that is not a concern because many of the pipes are already <br />oversized. He stated that the bigger concern is whether pipes that have already <br />been lined once can be lined again. <br />Chair Cihacek inquired if staff had a cost estimate for the value gained by <br />reducing I&I and lowering the amount that the City would pay to the <br />Metropolitan Council. Mr. Freihammer explained that the Metropolitan Council <br />bills the City a year later but stated that reducing millions of gallons of water <br />would save real dollars. <br />Chair Cihacek inquired what it would take to reduce millions of gallons of water <br />resulting from I&I problems. Mr. Freihammer replied that there is not one quick <br />fix but rather there are a combination of little fixes that reduce I&I and stated that <br />the sump pumps are a huge factor. <br />Mr. Sandstrom stated that by tracking I&I reductions over the years they will be <br />able to compare dollars invested to dollars saved. <br />Chair Cihacek stated that dollars saved are essentially reinvested back into the <br />fund for reducing I&I and stated that it is a good long-term method for reducing <br />costs in the future. He also pointed out that because the private system is larger <br />than the public system residents being proactive has a larger impact. <br />Member Kruse inquired if they have seen any problems in lined pipes through the <br />televised lines. Mr. Sandstrom stated that video is required before and after the <br />installation of a pipe liner and stated that a follow up video is again conducted 10 <br />years later. He stated that the liners are holding up very well. <br />Mr. Freihammer stated that lining pipes has reduced the need to dig in the streets <br />and stated that it is a good long-term solution to avoid pipes breaking. <br />Page 3 of 8 <br />