By JAMES MITCHELL
Sunday Times Newspapers
LINCOLN PARK – The good news is, last week’s additional rain storms did not create new flooding problems in southeast Lincoln Park.
A small satisfaction, City Administrator Steve Duchane said Wednesday, adding that claims from about 150 homes in the city are being reviewed for damage caused by sewage flooding into basements last month.
Late July featured several days of intense, long-lasting rains. A pumping station at Emmons Street was discovered to have had an issue with a sensor trigger, resulting in a jam that sent backups into an unknown number of homes.
Southeastern streets including Harrison, Moran, River Drive and Fort were affected, and Duchane said the residents who demanded answers at Monday’s City Council meeting reflected the estimated 150 homeowner claims now being reviewed by Sterling Heights-based independent claims adjusters Crawford & Co.
“The people wanted to say something,” Duchane said of the unhappy homeowners who spoke their piece last week. “We have a claim form available on our website, retained a claims adjuster who is now in the process of making recommendations.”
Duchane acknowledged that if the city is found responsible the residents will be duly compensated.
“We will address it in lieu of what the claim is,” Duchane said. “Not all claims are the same.”
Duchane said the mechanical systems at the station are being reviewed, and that last month’s disruption, which sent fecal matter and other waste into people’s basement, appears to have been an lated case, one that hadn’t happened before.
“Once it was manually turned on, it alleviated the problem rapidly,” he said, adding that the station is being reviewed as part of a five-year water and sewer program, and new features are expected to be installed there.
“Fundamentally, the old stations do function fine,” Duchane said. “There’s nothing wrong with the pump itself. In this case, we think the surge of water disrupted the normal operation.”
Theories have been offered, beginning with near-record precipitation levels this past spring to the intensity and duration of last month’s storms.
City insurance does not cover any compensation that Lincoln Park will have to provide residents.
“If there’s liability, it’s a direct-cost liability,” Duchane said.
(James Mitchell can be reached at [email protected])