The city has filed a draft environmental assessment for the Kalihi Valley Reconstructed Sewer plan with the state Office of Environmental Quality Control and is seeking public comment.

According to the assessment, most of the 8-inch and 18-inch sewer lines were installed in the 1950s and are in bad condition. The city used closed circuit TV cameras to assess the damage, which includes cast iron pipes that are deteriorating and cracked ceramic pipes.

The year-long work will start at the uppermost sewer manhole on Kalihi Street deep in the valley and run three miles toward the ocean to School Street. Construction won't begin until 2007 when money becomes available, Steinberger said. The existing trunk sewers generally follow the path of the Kalihi and Kamanaiki streams.

The project also includes sewer manhole rehabilitation, reconnections to lateral lines, temporary sewer bypassing and road and landscape restoration.

Steinberger said the project was first estimated to cost about $20 million but that was reduced to about $11 million when planners decided to make use of cured-in-place-pipe to repair sewer lines damaged by plant roots and shifting soil. The process is much less expensive then digging trenches for new pipe and creates a continuous, smooth liner, he said.

The cured-in process involves dragging or hydraulically pushing flexible pipelines into the old pipe from one manhole to another. The pipe is then filled with hot water which acts as a catalyst to harden the new fiberglass pipe in place.

"It is very smooth so the flow is much better and the roots can't get in because there are no openings," he said. "It will improve capacity because it improves the flow."

Some of the lines are about 100 years old and many are on private property with no public easements. The cured-in process allows work crews to repair pipes on private property without having to secure permission from each homeowner, Steinberger said.

This procedure has been used in Enchanted Lake, Kane'ohe and on Kapi'olani Boulevard. The pipe is expected to last at least 30 years, he said.

Kalihi Valley Neighborhood Board member Jory Watland said he would have liked to have heard a presentation on the project before the draft assessment was published to allow residents time to comment on the project.

"It may be good for the valley if we are getting breaks," Watland said. "Our concern from the board standpoint is what is the reason for the work, how disruptive will it be and what provisions are you making for the disruption?"

Steinberger it is still early in the planning process and presentations will be made to the board.

"There will be other opportunities," he said. "They'll have ample time to ask about their concerns and get the answers."