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Boston's South End battles sewer line collapses

BOSTON — The stately brownstones and charm of the South End make it one of Boston’s most recognizable and sought-after neighborhoods.

But off the main roads are lots of small alleyways, and some have major trouble brewing in the ground beneath them.

When the South End was built, some owners turned their alleys over to the city. Others decided to keep theirs private. Those with private alleys had to maintain their own, and that stands true today.

Now, one of the biggest problems for homeowners along private alleys are the ancient sewer lines in the ground beneath them.

"This is an artifact of 19th century thinking - some people turned their alley over to the city and some didn't, and we are the inheritors of that," said Steve Fox of the South End Forum.

Its easy to spot the differences between private and public alleys. The one between Rutland and Concord Streets is city-owned, and it’s well-maintained with pavement and streetlights.

On the other hand, the alley just across Tremont Street between Rutland and West Newton is private. It’s riddled with potholes and unpaved.

The sewer system below was built in 1850 and is also private, so the city won’t touch it. It’s on the homeowners to maintain the infrastructure.

"There was a collapse and we had raw sewage in the alley," said Etta Rosen, of the Pilot Block Neighborhood Association.

When Rosen bought her home in the South End, she had no idea her sewer was private. She found out a few years ago when it collapsed.

"I called the sewer department and they said 'it's a private alley, we're not doing anything,'" said Rosen. "The raw sewage was exposed at least a week."

As it turns out, Etta's sewer was built in 1863 and is almost full.

"The pipe is too full, we're concerned that it’s going to overflow, get back-ups, or it's going to collapse," Rosen said.

In the past, the South End Forum Community Group has tried to turn the sewers over to the Boston Water and Sewer Commission, but it hasn't happened yet. A Boston Sewer and Water Commission spokesperson tells us:

"BWSC has a Betterment Policy so property owners can petition to make a private sewer public, which would then be owned and maintained by the Commission."

Members of the South End Forum are meeting with the BWSC next week. The forum's goal is to get the BWSC to take an inventory of all private sewers, and eventually take them all over.