Schaumburg will split cost of overhead sewers

For some Schaumburg residents, the aftermath of the flash floods of last Sept. 13 lingered long after Sept. 14.

The backing up of filthy sewer water into their basements and family rooms left them with costly clean-up efforts that are reaching their conclusions only now.

But village board members Tuesday agreed to take a step beyond their normal guidelines in financially assisting these homeowners to keep them from suffering a future repeat of such problems.

The village will pay half the cost of installing overhead sewers, a critical element these five houses on Spring Cove Drive lacked.

"I'm very pleased, but it still means our houses weren't built to code," resident Donna Hartsburg said. "I saw sewer water floating in my family room."

All five houses that suffered from the sewer back-up are the same model, but flooded while different models next door and across the street did not, she added.

The neighborhood is not near any body of water and residents have been confounded by why they've suffered these mishaps every few years, Hartsburg said.

The overhead sewers to be installed are built to some height above the basement floor level, Schaumburg Public Works Director Steve Weinstock explained.

Their costs can range from $3,000 to $10,000 depending on the design of the house and the amount of wall or lawn tear-up needed to reach the plumbing, he added.

The village has agreed to pay half the cost of the sewer for any household in danger of flooding without one, up to $5,000 per home.

Schaumburg has historically never paid for improvements on a homeowner's private property, officials said. But this exception is not meant to set a precedent for any other kind of problem.

"We're not talking about anything else, but it is a departure from what the village has typically done for the past 50 years," Trustee Marge Connelly said.

The village expects to find up to $100,000 for such projects in its water fund, Village Manager Ken Fritz said.

Although only five households in an isolated area have been identified so far, officials acknowledged that others may still come forward.