Drain disconnections at time of home sale might be required
Proposal aims to reduce backups in problem areas
March 3, 2010 | 0 comments
Wauwatosa officials are considering creating an ordinance that would require a homeowner to disconnect their basement foundation drains from the city's sanitary sewer system upon selling a house.
The ordinance was one of the methods discussed by the Budget and Finance Committee to cut down on the sewer backups that have been plaguing areas of the city after large rainstorms and reduce water flow levels that exceed limits set by the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District.
The city Engineering Department spent last year investigating the sanitary sewer system in the neighborhoods where the most flooding problems were reported after the heavy rainfalls of June 2008 and 2009.
Few cracks, leaks or other structural problems were found, leading staff to determine the condition of the city's system is not the culprit, City Engineer Bill Wehrley said. That means the problems likely stem from private property.
"There's more water coming in than the (city's sanitary sewer) pipe has the ability to convey from homes," he said.
Options exist
The city has a few options for handling the matter. One would be to simply tell residents that 100-year rain events exceed the system's design capacity and move on. Between the two rain storms, 262 property owners reported backups, 35 of those had problems both times. Based on past experience, the actual number of people who experienced flooding is probably double those reported, city staff said.
Alderman Michael Walsh said that option didn't sit well with him, because major rainstorms had occurred four times in little more than a decade, making it hard to call them 100-year events.
"We will never guarantee that we will not see any more backups," he said, adding that two options would reduce the likelihood of such incidents.
One would be to increase pipe sizes in the areas that have been studied, which Wehrley estimates would cost $5 million to $7 million. Engineers still need to investigate other areas of the city.
"At first blush, it would be a little overzealous to replace the pipe size in all of these areas," said Alderman Brian Ewerdt, who serves as committee chairman.
The second option would be to install backwater flow prevention valves in residents' homes at a price tag of $1 million to $2 million.
"Working on private property is not an attractive option, but the cost may be right," Wehrley said.
By putting in valves and adding sump pumps, the amount of water going into the pipes could be reduced, preventing the need for larger pipes, he said.
Foundation drains were installed in homes prior to 1954. Over the decades, some homeowners disconnected them as a requirement for major renovation projects, but the Engineering Department does not know how many remain intact.
Alderwoman Jill Organ said she can foresee increasing the pipe sizes backfiring because larger amounts of water would be permitted through the system. Instead, she suggested looking at the disconnection ordinance as part of the solution.
"If it's not impacting you, what's your motivation to do it?" she questioned, acknowledging tying the ordinance to home sales would not yield immediate results but would create an impact over time.
Aldermen said they need more information from city staff, specifically about where funding would come from and what level of satisfaction could be expected.
The matter was held over for continued discussion next week.
Next Step
WHAT: Wauwatosa Budget and Finance Committee will discuss how to deal with sanitary sewer problems.
WHERE: City Hall, 7725 W. North Ave.
WHEN: 8 p.m. Tuesday
AT A GLANCE
Sanitary sewers have undergone investigation in the areas near the following streets:
• 108th and Congress streets
• 92nd and Clarke streets
• 69th and Lloyd streets
• 117th Street and North Avenue
• 120th Street and Diane Drive
• Blue Mound Road and St. Anne Court
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