Resident urges Will County action after repeated septic flooding on Harris Drive; health department begins dye tests

Anthony Melli, a resident who said he speaks for his daughter and neighbors on Harris Drive, told the Will County Public Health & Safety Committee that repeated seasonal flooding and high groundwater have left household plumbing unusable for days at a time. "They're unable to use their plumbing, in their house for a number of days," Melli said, describing dye tests and on-site inspections already under way.

The committee’s chair and members heard that the stormwater committee had prepared a multi-option engineering study, and county staff reported cost estimates ranging from about $2,000,000 to more than $3,000,000 depending on the chosen remedy. A county staff member said the study included alternatives such as upgraded storm drains and, in one option, removing several houses to create water-retention areas.

Health department staff identified the technical next steps the department will take. Health department representative Sean Connor said the department has done on-site visits and is using dye tests to establish whether septic systems are surfacing sewage waste: "When we do a dye test, though, when a system is saturated like we're describing, the dye might come up, so we'll see the dye." He added the department does not currently have the capacity to do full pathogen testing on runoff at the property edge and that dye tests are used to establish whether wastewater is surfacing.

Committee members pressed for clarity on the number of homes affected and on whether the county or the city of Joliet holds responsibility for drains and runoff. Staff said roughly 24 homes are in the neighborhood studied; estimates of homes with failing fields ranged from about 4–6 cooperating households to a state figure of "up to 9" possibly affected. The department also noted many systems were installed around 1970 and that a septic field's expected functional life can be roughly 50 years, which may affect repair options.

The committee did not adopt an immediate funding decision. Chair (acting) said the committee will await the health department’s dye-test results and a fuller report before placing the item on a future agenda for possible funding or other action: "We'll we'll put it on the agenda after we get a better report from the health department." Members also agreed staff should connect county board members with state and federal legislative contacts and lobbyists to explore grant or matching-fund opportunities in the interim.

Next steps: the health department will complete dye testing and site evaluations with cooperating homeowners and return to the committee with a written report; the committee reserved further action until it reviews that report.