Elgin: Fixes should boost sewers

Elgin leaders on Wednesday tweaked a program to help homeowners improve their basements to hopefully avoid flooding and sewer backups, but residents said they expected more.

"It doesn't look much different than before," said resident Jim Johnston.

Some older sections of the city have what is called a combined sewer, where rain and sewage all are discharged into one large pipe. But recent storms have pumped sewage into people's basements, simply overwhelming the pipe.

Over the years and due to an unfunded U.S. Environmental Protection Agency mandate, the city has installed new pipes but still has two large sections of the city to go.

In the meantime, the city wants more residents to install an overhead sewer - a standard practice for newer homes - or a check valve. Both are designed to combat sewage backups.

Before, the city had a program to split the cost of an overhead sewer 50-50 with a homeowner, capping the city's share at $5,000. Only 13 people have used this program in the past several years.

Wednesday, the city staff outlined a plan where the city would front the homeowner $10,000; pay 50 percent or up to $5,000; and let the homeowner pay the balance in the water bill interest free for one year or at a "nominal rate" - which was not specified - thereafter.

The city staff also included a similar 50-50 cost-sharing program for check valves with the city fronting $2,000 and paying up to $1,000. The overall budget was increased from $30,000 to $130,000.

Charlene Sligting, president of the South West Area Neighbors, or SWAN, where much of the flooding occurs, said she and her neighbors were disappointed. With a new sewer system years and years away, they would prefer the city pay for 100 percent of the overhead sewer.

Sligting said many of her neighbors can't afford to make the improvement, which she fears will just increase sewer backups in other surrounding basements anyway.

Sligting suggested the city bid out the work to one firm instead of requiring homeowner to get two estimates on their own.

"This way it protects the homeowner and the city saves money. It streamlines the process," she said. "This has been a known problem for 30 years and they have not allocated enough money for it."

Council members will consider the changes at their next meeting on Aug. 26.