Resident urges village to reconsider sewer‑level monitors amid proposed 250‑home subdivision

Chris Peedak, a Germantown resident, told the Public Works and Highway Committee that his neighborhood faces repeated sewer backups and mounting repair bills and urged officials to revisit a rejected proposal for real‑time sewer monitoring.

"We therefore have a lot of skin in the game, a huge financial burden on residents," Peedak said, adding that some properties have incurred "multiple tens of thousands of dollars in losses" and "some properties even into 6 figures." He said concerns are heightened by forecasts that El Niño could bring another stormy summer and by a developer proposal for a 250‑plus rental subdivision near Showmuffin Park that residents fear will increase stormwater and traffic impacts.

Peedak noted that public works staff previously told residents that monitoring during storms was done manually from a point more than half a mile from the most affected areas and that staff had discussed — but declined as too costly — installing automated sewer level monitors at roughly $10,000 each. "To me, this seems that it would be a much more efficient and effective than a manual read," he said, urging the committee to "reconsider that decision."

Committee members and staff did not take action on the request at the meeting. The chair said a Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) representative will attend the committee’s August meeting, and the public works director will be asked to respond to Peedak’s points at that time. The chair reminded members that the committee could not conduct a full policy discussion on an item not on the agenda but that the topic will return when MMSD is present.

The committee did not adopt any new policy at the meeting; staff said the issue will be revisited at the August session when the MMSD representative attends.