Septic issues afloat in Millstone Elementary

Superintendent says ongoing problem poses no danger to students

BY JENNIFER KOHLHEPP

Staff Writer

A school custodian alleged this week that the Millstone Township Elementary School has sewer line problems.

Ken Sabosik, the school district’s head custodian since July 2003, said Millstone elementary school has had pipe problems for about a year, which cause sewage to back up into areas of the school, including the kitchen.

“My job as a head custodian is to give the kids a safe, clean environment when the school doors open every day,” Sabosik said. “That’s what the kids deserve, and that’s what their parents deserve.

“I’m not trying to point any fingers at anyone,” he said. “My interest is with the kids.”

Sabosik said he filed a complaint with the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) on Feb. 14.

The DEP complaint reads, “Possible water contamination from a sewer line, broken for over a year. The line was never fixed and the school is on its own well.”

Sabosik said the line having problems exists under the E-wing at the back of the school.

Since Sabosik filed the complaint, he said the state turned the case over to the Monmouth County Health Department.

“As far as I know, they’ve visited the school a few times and tested the water,” Sabosik said.

Sabosik said his complaint came as a result of wanting to ensure that the school’s drinking water was safe for students and staff.

“I’m not alleging that the water is bad,” Sabosik said. “I’m just worried that if the pipe is broken, raw sewage has been leaking into the ground all of this time, and the property is situated on two wells. Maybe the kids should be drinking bottled water.”

Sabosik said that in the last six months, he’s seen the sewage back up five times.

“At one point, we had sewage backing up into the kitchen, where all of the main meals are prepared,” Sabosik said. “I did what I did out of concern for the health and welfare of the children.”

In November, according to Sabosik, the sewage backed up into the ladies’ rest room during a wrestling match.

“I was asked to work that Saturday morning of the meet,” Sabosik said. “There were hundreds of people there, and although the morning started out fine, by about 10 a.m. the sewers backed up, and I had to close the rest room.”

Prior to the wrestling match, Sabosik thought the school had fixed the problem, he said.

“In the summer, the school had a company come in and put a camera in the line to take a look at why the blockage was reoccurring,” Sabosik said.

“They discovered that paper products were getting hung up on a broken lip,” he said. “I took it for granted [that] they fixed it after that.”

The district has a videotape of the surveillance, according to Superintendent William Setaro.

Setaro said the school has two separate problems with its sewer system.

“There was a backup in one of the ladies’ rooms during a wrestling meet because too many paper products were flushed down the toilet,” Setaro said. “We also have an ongoing problem in the fourth-grade wing in one of the 4-inch pipes. Some of the welding created a rough edge in the pipe that tends to catch paper.”

Whenever sewage backs up, Sabosik said, he and his coworkers clean the area using bleach and water.

“We’ll suck up the mess in a wet-vac and then go over an area 10 times with bleach and water,” Sabosik said. “After everything is clean, we’ll go over it again with a clean mop and then let the area air dry.”

Setaro said he was not aware sewage had backed up into the kitchen area.

“The kitchen is by the auditorium, and we’ve been having problems by the gym,” Setaro said.

Setaro said when flooding in hallways became a problem about a year ago due to the system backing up all of the time, “We spent money and time to fix the problem.”

The district purchased its own water jet to flush the system once a month, according to Setaro.

“We’re on top of things,” Setaro said. “We check the water regularly to ensure the drinking water is fine. We take every precaution, and if there is a backup, we close off that area completely and fix it.”

Setaro said until the district can have the line in the E-wing fixed, it will use the water jet to maintain the line.

“We’re going to see if we can smooth the line without having to jackhammer through the school floor and the poured concrete,” Setaro said. “That would not be cost-effective, so we’re using a preventative maintenance technique.”

Setaro said he wanted to dispel any rumors that the school’s drinking water posed a danger to students or staff.

“We would not put children in jeopardy or our staff,” Setaro said. “We have to live here. too.”

Sabosik said, “A lot of people know about this now, and I expect the board is going to have a lot of people at their next meeting.”

When asked if he thought his accusations would have any bearing on the board renewing his contract in July, Sabosik said he hoped that it wouldn’t.

“I saw a parent in the hallway the other day, and I don’t know him very well,” Sabosik said. “But the man said he heard I was in a bit of a situation.

“I didn’t know what he was talking about,” Sabosik said, “until he stuck out his hand and said, ‘I appreciate what you’re doing for our kids.’ ”