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Resident urges council to fix basement sewage backups; city engineers plan inspections
Summary
A LaSalle resident described repeated basement sewage backups after heavy rains and urged the council to investigate possible sump-pump connections to the sanitary sewer. City engineers said crews will televise and clean lines and pursue targeted inspections.
A LaSalle resident told the City Council he and several neighbors suffered sewage backups in their basements after recent heavy storms and urged the city to find and fix the cause.
"I've been working on this for, what, two weeks easily, and it's a mess," said Wayne Zevron, a resident of 590 Baker Avenue, during public comment. Zevron said about six neighbors experienced sewage in basements and described disinfecting rugs he did not want to throw away.
The issue, Zevron said, appears to be stormwater or sump pumps discharging into the sanitary sewer rather than into the larger storm lines. "Sump pumps being hooked up to the sanitary sewer" was his central concern.
City staff and aldermen responded that the city has a check-valve and ejector-pump program and that crews can use video inspection and cleaning to look for improper connections. "We will be looking at the sewer up there to make sure everything is clear and everything will be televised and cleaned again this year," said the city engineer, who explained the televising/cleaning process and how higher-than-normal flows can reveal sump-pump connections.
Council members described previous separation work in the neighborhood and noted that, while the city has cleaned main trunks in prior years, targeted testing (televising and smoke tests) and local inspections are appropriate next steps. Staff said the work can identify service lines with unusual flow patterns consistent with sump pumps or roof-drain connections and that the city will prioritize camera-cleaning and follow-up in the affected blocks.
No formal ordinance or emergency spending was enacted at the meeting; council members directed staff to schedule camera inspections and to follow up with the resident. The resident was invited to meet with staff and engineers to provide property-specific details so crews can focus inspections.
