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Officials describe storm response and urge residents to use DuPage County's overhead sewer program after weekend flooding
Summary
County staff reported high wastewater plant flows and several home sanitary backups after a heavy rain; officials described an overhead sewer conversion program that can cover up to $5,000 toward conversions and urged affected residents to contact county staff.
County public-works staff told the committee on Jan. 7 that crews worked through a heavy rain event that caused localized flooding and sanitary backups in some homes.
"We had maintenance crews in operations out throughout the weekend. They did a terrific job," said Sean (speaker 8), the public-works representative, reporting that all three wastewater plants experienced high flow and that the county saw "over 48,000,000" come to Woodridge and about 12 homes with sanitary backups in the Darien area. The transcript does not specify units for the "48,000,000" figure.
Staff described the county's overhead sewer program as a long-running mitigation tool. A staff member told the committee the county provides initial coverage and assists homeowners converting from in-ground sanitary connections to overhead sewer; staff said the county covers the first $2,000 of work and contributes up to $5,000 toward conversions. Staff estimated typical homeowner costs for conversion "anywhere between $3,000 and probably $7,000," depending on home specifics.
Committee members and staff urged residents experiencing basement flooding to contact the appropriate county staff (staff directed constituent referrals to a staff member named Sarah Honda and advised that matters would be routed to the right operations team). Staff also noted the county coordinates with municipal sewer-maintenance programs where applicable and that some communities run parallel assistance programs.
Sean emphasized the program's long track record: "We've been doing this program for 25 years," he said, describing it as "money well spent" to prevent repeat basement flooding once conversions are completed.
What happens next: staff said they will follow up with affected homeowners and coordinate feasibility assessments; committee members were advised to direct constituents to the county website or to staff contact Sarah Honda for intake and triage.
