From: Jerry Mellone [mailto:gmellone@att.net]
To: Jeff Speaker

Subject: Legislative Referral Regarding Sewer Back Up

Mayor Speaker,

This referral is my assessment of the devastating sewer back-ups experienced by some Brookfield residents as a result of the storm this past June.

Taking a proactive approach to this problem should result in the correction of a problem that seems insurmountable to everyone involved.  Each flooding problem is unique, but all of these problems could be corrected by following this recommendation. 

This email is a formal request by an alderman to consider a topic of interest to that alderman.  It is addressed to the Mayor in his role as chief administrative officer so that the appropriate staff members can review the topic, discuss it with the alderman for clarification, place it on committee agendas, etc.

It is common to get a new referral on a topic that has been discussed and acted on many times in the past.  In this case, the June floods were a “test” of all the system upgrades made in the last decade.  Of course, every system is built to some design limit.  Why can’t your car travel at 400 mph?  The storms of 1997, 1998 and June, 2008 were well beyond every design limit used by the city. 

Connecting sump pump ejection hoses to the sanitary sewer has never been legal.  Connecting foundation drains was legal until 1954 when the plumbing codes were changed to prohibit it.  Brookfield did inspect for this as part of the flood systems improvement s in the last decade and found about a dozen homes out of several thousand. This is common in older parts of Milwaukee, but given the relatively recent construction on Brookfield homes, I doubt this is common here.

Voluntary programs have their share of problems.  If the program is voluntary, yet finding the connection would require you to make the change or be fined, why would you want to do it?  The combination of “voluntary” and “fine those who do not comply” is a conflict of terms.

This was done after the 1997-1998 storms.  Since a common cause of power failure is tree limbs breaking or shorting out power lines, it resulted in aggressive tree trimming by WE Energies.  Remember seeing the yellow Asplundh trucks?  Many residents complained when the trees were pruned, even when they clearly surrounded a power line and posed a danger.  Proper placement of trees in the first place so that they would not grow into the power lines would be a better solution, but we’re way past that.

There are industry standards for an “acceptable” number of power outages and the utility will claim they comply.  As far as I know, the city cannot force a higher standard of power reliability since utilities are already regulated at the federal level. 

Looping electrical power is common practice, although I don’t have details on the specific layout of Brookfield’s power grid.

Remember, the power company isn’t making any money during a power failure, so they already have a profit incentive to keep the lines well maintained and minimize power outages.  However, they go through a calculation of whether the “couple of hours every few years” outage costs more in lost profit than the purchase and maintenance of the equipment.  They have no liability for basements flooding, etc. due to the outages.

3.  Encourage and offer incentives to new construction that utilize on site storage and use of rain water.  Rainwater can be stored under parking areas and on site for use on site.  Web sites such as www.rainwatermanagement.com and www.ads.com along with others show rain water storage techniques and uses of this water for irrigation, laundries, truck and car wash, flushing toilets etc. This practice will help the overloading of our sanitary system as well as augment our potable water supply.   Brookfield should set an example by utilizing these techniques in the construction of its schools and facilities. 

Onsite storage is already being done in Brookfield.  Examples include the Johnson Bank at North and Lilly and the new Schlossman’s car dealership on Capital and Brookfield.

What is meant by “incentives”?  Having taxpayers pick up the bill?  Granting more variances on density, height, signage, etc.?  That creates as many problems as it solves.

The SEWRPC 2035 Regional Water Study explored rainwater storage,  declared it a minor improvement and did not recommend it.

One consideration is how “dirty” the water gets.  If it’s collected off a roof it is considered mostly clean (thought not drinkable) and simple filtration can remove any dirt.  If it’s collected off a parking lot it may have traces of grease, oil, gas, fertilizers, insecticides, etc. as well as dirt, limiting its use.  Our world is filled with a lot more contaminants than pioneer days.  It is a manageable problem, but the point is that it is not as easy as just filling a rain barrel and dumping it out the next day.

City code already requires keeping the storm water outflow rate from a property to no more than what was happening before the construction.  Of course, if that old rate was already causing flooding, it doesn’t really fix anything.  I have heard resident’s complain about empty and useless retention and detention ponds after the June storms, yet the civil engineers claim they work as designed.  How do we get the “real” story? 

These are fairly new ideas conservative property owners will resist using “unproven” techniques that “only drive up our costs”.  How many solar heating panels installed in the late 1970’s are still in operation?

3a. Storm water can be captured and directed into a cistern.  This can be a 55 gallon drum.  Holding tanks are available starting at 300 gallons to 30,000 gallons for residential and small commercial use.  This water can be used to irrigate, wash cars, etc.  If there is a recurring drainage problem, neighbors could get together and share in the cost of the installation of a cistern.  There is a payback by saving on their water bills.  This practice may or may not solve a flooding problem depending on the area it will serve and the storm event. 

This option is gaining attention as a water conservation method as well as a flood control mechanism.

4.  For those homes still affected by sewer backup, Brookfield should help the residents isolate those problem homes and utilize back water valves to stop the sewer backup.  In-line back water valves, due to design flaws, can add to the problem because the flapper tends to trap debris rendering these valves ineffective.  There is an automatic operating back water valve manufactured by J. R. Smith Co. that utilizes the pressure created in the line to activate a stainless steel knife gate that stops the back flow when the sewer is in flood stage.  This device automatically stops the back up and opens a full port line when the flood subsides.  This device has proven effective for over 10 years and gives the home owners peace of mind that their home will no longer flood due to sewer back up.

What does “help the residents” mean? 

Should tax dollars be used to buy them for residents?  Why should my taxes go up to pay for someone else’s poor plumbing?

What if your basement never flooded but you wanted a valve just in case?  Does the city buy you one anyway?

It’s mechanical so sooner or later it will clog, leak or fail.  Does the city inspect and maintain the valves forever? 

Does the city incur liability if the valve fails?

If the water stops flowing to a basement it still has to go somewhere.  What happens when the neighbor who never had flooding gets all that water?  Did the city really help anyone?

I have no personal experience with these devices, but I have heard they work well.  There are several models, but most require digging up the lateral between your house and the city sewer and inserting the valve.  This requires a professional plumbing contractor.  

You can learn more at:  http://www.backwater-valves.com/

Several city web sites mention using these valves, but I don’t know of any that require them, endorse them or subsidize them.

http://www.torrnet.com/12673.htm

Battery operated sump pumps are available many home improvement stores.  They are 12 volt pumps sometimes used a bilge pumps on motorboats.  A large battery can operate them for several hours.

I installed one at my house with little difficulty.  I test it at least once per year by unplugging the main pump (simulates power or pump failure) and using a hose to fill the sump.  Make sure the drain hose is unobstructed and flows well away from the house.

Maintenance of the battery is critical.  I recommend a deep discharge marine battery.  The acid levels should be checked one to two times per years and the battery should be replaced every 5 to 10 years.  There are low maintenance batteries that don’t need to be checked, but that adds to cost.  I follow a pretty conservative practice, but would you rather have the pump fail when it’s needed the most?

Given that the pump will run only when you have a lot of rain and no power, it could be several years between activations.

Another solution is a home generator.  They are expensive and portable ones can be difficult to connect and maintain.  The “best” is a permanent installation, runs on natural gas and automatically switches on when power fails and will cost upwards (often WAY up) of $5,000.

I have seen these water powered pumps at home improvement stores but have no personal experience with them.  They have no moving  pump parts (it’s uses the Venturi effect) but they do have check valves that can fail.  They are considered highly reliable, but not perfect.

City water pressure is maintained during blackouts by water towers and emergency generators at key well stations.  This is a relatively new DNR requirement and is really meant to maintain water pressure for firefighting during a blackout.  You could make an argument about “wasting” drinking water to pump out your basement, but in the rare emergency I think it’s a reasonable option.  Of course, you will be billed for the water.

For reference, an average sump pump is 1/3 horsepower and can move 25 gallons/minute (GPM) or 1,500 gallons/hour (gph).  It is common in Brookfield to have two independent sump pumps and having one not operate off utility power is a reasonable idea.

For more information, check these web sites (and no, I have no connection to these companies – I found them using Google).

http://www.radonseal.com/pumps/water-powered-pumps.htm

http://www.1stflash.com/files/Basementsaver.htm

http://www.senecaplumbing.com/backup-sump-pumps.html

Please include the above for discussion at our Sewer and Water Board and on the Council floor. 

Sincerely Yours,

Jerry Mellone

Alderman Sixth District

A discussion of the June floods is already planned for the next meeting of the Sewer Board and Board of Public Works.  That will be on Tuesday, August 12 at 7:00 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers. 

Finally, there is the real “third rail” of sewer policy.  Many of the sewer pipes (laterals) connecting the house to the sewer in the street are defective.  Tree roots, poor soils, bad installation, etc. can make them leak like crazy.  Besides the sewage leaking out, they let rainwater leak in. 

The city uses a television camera to inspect every inch of its street located sewer lines in roughly a five-year cycle.  This has resulting in many otherwise unknown problems being discovered and repaired in the last several years.  In theory, it could be extended to home laterals. 

In the interest of full disclosure, I want to add that Ald. Jerry Mellone and his family, including Ald. Lisa Mellone, are the owners of Northland Sales, Inc. of New Berlin, a wholesale plumbing supplier who sells many of the devices listed here.  This means they have good professional credibility when discussing the effectiveness of these products.  It also raises the issue of a conflict of interest if they are a major supplier of such parts for this area.  Ald. Lisa Mellone has abstained from a few city project votes to avoid this conflict.