Politics & Government

Trustees Move Forward With Downspout Disconnection, Lateral Repair Programs

The two inspection projects will identify which sanitary laterals and which downspouts are unnecessarily burdening the village's sanitary sewer system with rain water.

Whitefish Bay trustees agreed to move forward with recommendations aimed at eliminating rain water from the sanitary sewer system through a village-wide downspout disconnection program and a lateral replacement program on the south side of the village.

Cameras used to identify leaky laterals

The private sanitary sewer lateral inspection and replacement program will start in an area of 390 homes between Glendale Avenue and Hampton Road, from Diversey Boulevard to Bartlett Avenue.

The televised inspection could begin as soon as this summer. By televising the sewer lines, the village will find out which laterals need to be replaced, which need to be re-lined and which laterals need no repair. The cost of partially lining a lateral is estimated to be around $3,600, and the cost of a complete lateral replacement is estimate to be around $6,100.

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The village conducted flow monitoring in this area last year, so this inspection would provide data on the effectiveness of tightening leaky laterals, as well as identify what volume of clear water can be attributed to leaky laterals versus foundation drains.

The village has roughly $180,000 in funds available from the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District for the $174,000 inspection project.

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Once data is collected about leaks in the system, the village plans to front the money for lateral lining and replacement, and then assess the homeowner. The current village code does not allow the village to mandate complete lateral replacement, so an ordinance change would be required to implement any work plan for lateral lining or replacement.

Looking for illegal downspouts

Trustees also authorized the village engineering department to move forward with looking for downspouts that may be illegally connected to the sanitary sewer.

By walking down the sidewalk and scoping out downspouts, a village intern will start identifying homes that are illegally routing their downspouts directly into the ground, which may mean they are sending the clear water into the sanitary sewer system designed to treat wastewater – not rain water. The intern will be paid roughly $11 per hour during the 10- to 12-week inspection, costing the village roughly $4,500 to $5,500. 

Once these homes are identified, the village will send letters to homeowners asking for permission to conduct dye water testing to determine if the clear water is indeed headed into the sanitary sewer.

The village has determined that as many as 15 percent of homes may have illegal downspouts, based on a survey that engineering consultants Donohue and Associates conducted last year.

The net effect of the illegal downspouts is the equivalent to about 25 acres of impervious surface water in the village, which is enough to overflow the capacity of the sanitary sewer system with just a five-year rain event, according to Donohue engineer Steve Sticklen.


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