The Town of Lexington is in the midst of a legal dispute as it seeks to fix a sewer issue that’s been impacting downtown for months.

“There's a big issue with the sewers on Main Street,” a town official told the Chronicle, requesting to remain anonymous. “And in a lot of ways, it's really not the town's fault, but they're trying to rectify the situation.”

According to Laurin Barnes, communications manager for the town, Lexington has to acquire properties located at 121 E Main St. and 127 E Main St. in order to fix a sewage failure. A truck has been parked in the lot behind O’Hara’s Public House and the law firm McWhirter, Bellinger & Associates since March 29, having to be manned 24/7 to “pump and haul” the sewage away from the area, Barnes explained.

“I would imagine that we've spent well over $100,000 on this truck already,” the official said.

The truck is necessary due a failure in a sewer line that dates back to 1925. According to Barnes, the line can’t be repaired as it is located under a building. She said the town has to acquire the property in order to relocate the line.

“The issue is isolated and it is because of the age of that particular sewer line combined with the fact it can’t be repaired/replaced because it is located underneath a building,” Barnes said. “The only option is to reroute the line and divert flow which requires an easement and the town has been working to acquire that easement prior to the current failure.”

That work involved negotiations with the property owner, New Brookland Associates LLC, before the current line failure, which have thus far not been successful. Now the town has started the process of condemning the property, which has to go through court.

The Chronicle reached out to New Brookland Associates and their legal representation for comment but didn’t immediately receive a reply.

According to the town official, the property was appraised at $4,700 and the town offered the owners $5,400 to acquire the property. According to the town official, New Brookland Associates came back saying it had an estimate putting the value of the property at $500,000.

At Town Council’s regular scheduled July 10 meeting, the members discussed “issues regarding New Brookland condemnation case” in executive session but didn’t take any action in regard to the situation when they entered open session.

Businesses that use the sewer line have been impacted by the issue. The town official told the Chronicle that a restaurant in the area had to close for a period of time due to sewage backing up in the building. The restaurant didn’t immediately respond when the Chronicle reached out to ask about the situation.

The town official directed the Chronicle to Craig Reagin Clothiers, located at 103 E Main St., where an employee said a few years ago they faced a sewage issue and ultimately had to resolve it on their own after approaching the town.

The town official indicated that Craig Reagin’s issue was related to the same problem Lexington is currently trying to rectify.

“We are not able to provide essential services to downtown right now and no one seems to be on to this or haven't really caught public attention, which is a little surprising to me.” the official told the Chronicle.

This is a developing story and will continue to be updated.