We’ve seen plenty of rain this summer and especially this past weekend. Nearly the entire county has been affected including Bloomdale in the south end, Weston on the west side and Northwood, Walbridge and Millbury to the north.
We all have experienced flooding streets, yards and basements. These are not sanitary sewer problems, although our sanitary sewers can be impacted.
The rainfall event on Saturday, June 27 was extraordinary.
No storm sewer system in the county is designed to handle the massive flows that result from 5-6 inches of rain in a 12 to 15 hour period.
When these storm sewer systems are overloaded and the ditches, and rivers surcharge, the drainage has nowhere to go.
We revert back to the “Great Black Swamp” in these situations.
A drive in any direction will show flooded fields and surcharged ditches.
Our sanitary sewers can be impacted due to leaking sewers, illegal storm connections, sump pumps and downspout drains. When an area floods, the water often relieves itself (sometimes with some assistance) into our sanitary sewer system. This can cause our sanitary sewers to surcharge and can even back up and cause slow household drains and basement backups.
We are constantly upgrading and repairing our sewer system, but it is costly and difficult to do so.
One potential solution that can be done by the homeowner is to place a backwater or check valve in your sanitary service lateral. If functioning properly, this can prevent messy and expensive cleanups and insurance claims for you.
Please be aware that any storm water connections to our sanitary sewer system, including sump pumps, downspouts, yard drains, etc. are illegal and contribute to the problem. If you have this situation, please notify us and we may be able to assist you in rectifying it.
Click here or scan the code to go to the Northwestern Water & Sewer District website.
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