Flooding an issue for Niles council

NILES — In the wake of Wednesday’ s storms that flooded a section of state Route 46 along with numerous home basements, Niles City Council has agreed to look into the possibility of storm and sanitary sewer improvements.

Council responded at its meeting Wednesday night after listening to a complaint from resident James Kane about water and sewage flooding in the basement of his Mistletoe Road home.

“It happens three or four times a year when there’ s heavy rain,” Kane said, “and it’ s going to happen again.

“This has gone on long enough,” he said. “You need an action plan.”

Kane said he believes some of the problems can be attributed to older homes that have roof and footer drains tied directly into sanitary sewers, which was acceptable at the time of their construction but is illegal now.

Randy Fabrizio, superintendent of the Niles Waste Water Treatment Plant, told council Kane’s point is valid.

“The system is working at more than capacity because of the water’ s infiltration of the sanitary sewers,” Fabrizio said, “and our (sanitation) treatment plant is nearing the end of its useful life.”

Fabrizio said the $15 million plant, built in 1988, has a 20-year lifespan, meaning this should be its final year. The superintendent said the plant flooded Wednesday.

As a result of Kane and Fabrizio’ s comments, council members have decided to meet with an engineering firm to discuss the flooding issues including the now illegal drains into the sanitary sewers.