WAITSBURG – Crumbling terracotta sewer lines infiltrated by tree roots, brittle and cracking concrete asbestos water pipes, and leaks in waterhsed spring lines, are indicators that the city’s water and sewer system is showing its age. City Manager Randy Hinchliffe suggested that the council consider a revision to the city’s utility fees in order to begin preparing for “some pretty substantial water system needs.”

Hinchliffe said the recent water line repair under the Touchet River Bridge as well as repairs to several leaks in the spring lines at the city’s watershed caused the city to spend ov...