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Mayor stumped over asphalt found in sewer station

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SORRENTO - A bizarre discovery in Sorrento is costing the town thousands of dollars. Brick-size chunks of asphalt were found inside the town's biggest sewer station. Now, the Mayor is trying to figure out how this happened.

Mayor Mike Lambert asked the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office to investigate and find out if this was an act of vandalism.

“If it was my main question is why would someone do this,” questioned Lambert.

It’s a situation that has stumped Lambert.

“We're not sure how it got there,” he said. “The experts said it is very unusual.”

Multiple pieces of asphalt were found in and around two sewer pumps. The Town first knew something was wrong when the alarm system in the sewer station went off. Then they discovered the pumps weren't working.

“The amount and how it got to that particular spot without doing other damage that we know of right now is unusual,” said Lambert.

Lambert said crews had to pump out all of the water in the sewer lift station to take out the damaged pumps and put temporary pumps in. The sewer system was never shut off. But Lambert said the asphalt damaged the pumps impellers so they needed to be repaired.

“It makes the budget very tight. This comes out of our utility fund and it’s definitely going to make it tight,” said Lambert.

The price tag is a big hit to the small town costing nearly $15,000. It's one the Mayor wasn't accounting for, especially since the sewer station is locked on a daily basis.

“Hopefully we don't have any other major out-of-pocket repairs that we have to do anytime soon,” said Lambert.

The Mayor didn't notice any sign of forced entry, but the sheriff's office says the investigation is ongoing. The town is going to look into adding surveillance cameras near the sewer station.

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