-
Over that past 10 years, Berea has addressed basement flooding issues throughout the City.
The heavy rainstorms of this spring and summer left the Greater Cleveland area with rain fall levels 10 inches above normal for July alone, according to the National Weather Service. Some homes are still experiencing unwanted water in basements and damage to foundations.
Here is what the City has done to mitigate these unfortunate events.
In the summer of 2011, heavy thunderstorms led to water damage in the Fair Street and North End neighborhoods. I appointed a committee of 12 residents and city officials facilitated by a representative of URS Corp. to study the situation. URS was hired by the City to dye-test private and public lines to determine problem areas. The committee was known as the Private Property Inflow/Infiltration Reduction Program Committee and it met eight times.
Testing revealed that most of the homes tested were contributing to the flooding issues. Water from lines and connections leading from houses is leaking into the sanitary sewers. There also were problems with tree roots, crushed pipes and downspouts.
The City worked to fix its portion of the system. That included heavy sewer cleaning to remove roots and other debris, full length lining of pipes, sewer grouting of pipe joints, pipe point repairs and manhole repairs. Phase One was completed in 2017. That phase included 10 streets.
The City is now in Phase Two of the sewer rehab project. Sewers were televised to assess their condition. Rehabilitation on existing sanitary sewers includes capacity increase, lining of existing pipes and sealing of manholes. The improvements will address inflow and infiltration of storm water into the sanitary sewers, which contribute to flooding issues.
This Phase involves 1.5 miles of sanitary sewers along 10 streets in the North End. The affected streets are Sheldon Road, Grayton Road, Arden Avenue, Emerson Drive, Longfellow Drive, Wesley Drive, The Mall, The Burns, North Rocky River Drive, Nancy Drive and Karen Drive.
The sewer rehab project is one of the most expensive in City history. Phase Two is budgeted at $1.25 million with a $735,000 grant from the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District. The repairs to the public system should reduce flooding risks.
Homeowners have been notified about problems of inflow and infiltration with lines on private property. While some homeowners have taken steps to fix those issues, some have not. Homes with continuing inflow and infiltration issues can affect other homes in the neighborhood.
Fixing these issues can be expensive. The City can connect homeowners with low-cost and no-cost county programs to help finance those projects.
I am sending a letter to residents explaining the sewer rehabilitation project and the steps taken to mitigate flooding issues. Be assured that the City is taking care of issues on public property, and we can advise you on solutions to issues on private property.