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Ione residents report repeated sewage backups on Shakeley Lane; city staff outline causes and next steps
Summary
Homeowner Amanda Fisher Naranjo and neighbors described recurring sewage backing into a Shakeley Lane house; city sewer staff said multiple private lateral tie‑ins, sagging pipe and lack of backflow prevention are likely causes and directed staff to place the issue and potential ordinance changes on a future agenda.
Amanda Fisher Naranjo told the Ione City Council on Feb. 4 that sewage has repeatedly backed up into her home on Shakeley Lane, and she asked the city to prioritize repairing what plumbers told her is a collapsed private connection several feet under the road.
The comment period drew multiple residents who described raw sewage in yards and homes and who presented photographs and video from a recent plumber visit. James Marzano, who said he photographed the scene, told council members the sewer manhole at 405 Shakeley had evidence of deep work by the contractor and shared images showing the manhole and camera footage taken in the line.
City wastewater staff and the plant operator, speaking at the meeting, described the problem as typical of older subdivisions where multiple homes were tied into single private laterals instead of each parcel having an individual sewer lateral. Justin, a Waterstone operator responsible for the tertiary/plant systems, told the council that multiple tie‑ins, grease and wet wipes, tree roots and a slight sag in the private line near 415 Shakeley make the lower home on the line especially prone to backups.
"If you don't have a backflow prevention valve, that water is shooting back up toward your house and there's nothing there to stop it," Justin said, describing how morning or evening household flows can overwhelm a shared private lateral.
Justin and Kathy, a plant operator on the Zoom call, said the city’s policy is that individual homeowners are responsible for their lateral from the building to the public main; city staff said the city is reviewing how to address recurring problems in older parts of town and that earlier studies exist showing problem areas. Kathy said the city is working on larger capital and grant efforts to repair infrastructure and on proactive steps such as a tracer study and a Sewer System Management Plan (SSMP).
Council members directed staff to place the Shakeley Lane situation and possible ordinance changes about laterals and responsibilities on a future council agenda so the issue can be discussed in more detail and next steps considered.
Residents urged quicker fixes for immediate health risks. "I'm requesting that the city make this a priority and have it fixed immediately," Amanda Fisher Naranjo said during public comment.
City staff recommended that residents report future incidents directly to the wastewater operator so staff can inspect while backups are occurring rather than relying only on after‑the‑fact social media reports. Council members asked staff to bring a formal agenda item with options for addressing repeated private lateral failures in older neighborhoods.
