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http://thenewsdispatch.com/articles/2010/0...90338123595.txt

After the Storm

Matt Field/The News-Dispatch Sanitary District workers pump water Thursday from a portion of James Elwell’s property, dubbed “Lake Elwell” according to a makeshift sign.
Flooding, sewage overflows ensue
By Matt Field
Staff Writer
Published: Friday, May 14, 2010 4:13 AM CDT
MICHIGAN CITY — Thunderstorms that drubbed the area early Thursday and the heavy bursts of rain that followed caused sewage to overflow and flooding in some areas of the city.

Michael Hoffman, Sanitary District collections superintendent, said the 2 inches of rain that fell at about 3:30 a.m. caused a sewer line at B&E Marine to overflow, sending about 500 to 1,000 gallons of raw sewage spilling onto the docks.

“Obviously, one does not want to put untreated sewage in Trail Creek, ever, but the volume was fairly small,” he said.

Sanitary District workers appeared to be finishing cleaning black sewage that remained on the docks at 8:30 a.m.

Elsewhere, the rain accumulated in empty lots and seeped into basements.

“There are at least a half a dozen areas in town that are low areas where we have water that is ponding and is causing some problems,” Hoffman said.

A parcel of land next to James Elwell’s home, 2116 Elston St., was flooded so badly, someone planted a makeshift sign near the sidewalk proclaiming it “Lake Elwell.”

Elwell said the property floods frequently during heavy rains, and he often has to combat water that trickles into his basement. He said he props open vents and keeps fans trained on his basement to keep it as dry as possible. A sump pump has been kicking on roughly every minute, he said.

He doesn’t store much in the basement.

“I don’t have anything of any importance,” he said. “I learned that some time ago.”

Sanitary District workers were busy vacuuming up as much of the water as possible from the “lake” and into a truck. When Elwell was reached by phone at about noon, he said the workers already took five loads of water.

Elwell, superintendent of the city’s Central Services, said his neighbors also have water problems during rainstorms. He said the city is aware of the issue, and officials have told him the problem will ease once a sewer project is complete.

An ongoing project to separate storm and sanitary sewers in the city should alleviate flooding in Elwell’s area, Hoffman said. An $8 million phase of a project is likely to begin this month.

For now, Elwell’s battle with rain water continues.

“It’s not going to go anywhere except in people’s houses,” he said.

Sewage overflows are not an infrequent occurrence for the Sanitary District. According to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, Thursday’s sewage overflow is the eighth of 2010. In 2009, there were 18 overflows, said Amber Finkelstein, a spokeswoman for the agency.

Hoffman said not all of the incidents the Sanitary District reports to IDEM are spills into state waterways like Trail Creek. Rather, some instances involve sewage backing up into basements.

Hoffman said wastewater is never intentionally discharged during heavy storms. Instead, if the district’s water treatment plant is operating at capacity, and a large basin meant to store excess water is full, water in the basin is given a basic treatment to kill bacteria before being discharged. That happens about three or four times a year.