Whitefish Bay will be inspecting hundreds of downspouts that could be illegally discharging rain water into the sanitary sewer system.
The village has identified 800 homes with downspouts connected to the ground, based on a visual inspection conducted by the village last year and information reported by residents in a 2011 sewer survey.
Now, engineering consultants Crispell-Snyder will test to see whether those downspouts are illegally sending rain water into the sanitary sewer. Sanitary sewers are designed to only carry wastewater, so any rain water in the pipes causes the pipes to fill up and backup into basements.
Crispell-Snyder will test for illegal downspout connections through dye water testing. It's illegal for downspouts to be connected to the sanitary sewer system, so homes found in noncompliance will be ordered to disconnect.
The number of homes tested will likely be less than 800, as the data of the two surveys needs to be compared with one another, as well as with recent clear water compliance data.
The consultants were granted a $180,000 contract for the work at a Village Board meeting earlier this week.
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