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City to add manholes
GIRARD
The city will add another manhole in an area where heavy rain caused flooded basements, city services director Jerry Lambert said this week.
Lambert said Tuesday that crews were still working to correct storm-sewer problems in the area of St. Clair, Washington and Ward streets, where rain water overwhelmed the storm drainage system.
They were then going to move on to sanitary sewer lines, checking them with a camera for restrictions that could be narrowing the pipes.
The city’s flushers have gotten through the lines, so there are no blockages, he said.
He said they will add a manhole on St. Clair between Prospect and Forsythe for easier access to the lines.
“In normal situations, manholes are 200 to 300 feet apart,” he said. “From Prospect to Forsythe, it’s 600 feet.”
Residents in the area were flooded last week and also Aug. 2. Some complained of sewage in the water that got into their basements, which is happening because of the way they older homes were built, Lambert said.
“In some of the older houses, footer drains and down spouts were tied in to the sanitary sewers, so they could have sewage in their basements,” he said.
He said there isn’t much that can be done about the way the houses were built.
“If there are obstacles, we will remove them,” he said. “Otherwise, it’s just a lot of rain that fell in a short period of time.”
The water came down so fast that it blew the covers off the manholes, city officials said.