Solon working to identify, correct sewer issues after heavy rains on Labor Day - cleveland.com

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SOLON, Ohio -- William Drsek, the city’s public works commissioner, explained at the City Council meeting Tuesday (Sept. 8) how the city is working to identify and correct issues with its sewer system in the wake of heavy rains on Labor Day.

Solon was one of many municipalities in Northeast Ohio that experienced flash flooding on Monday (Sept. 7). Drsek said the city received about 4¼ inches of rain, most of which fell between 7 a.m. and 1 p.m. that day.

“The intensity level was 6¾ (inches), which means if the rain was steady, we would have gotten 6¾ inches of rain,” he said. “I’ve seen it as high as 20 (inches) in the past.”

Drsek said the city’s service department received 19 calls related to sewer issues as a result of the heavy rain. Many of those calls came from Wards 1 and 2, he said.

“Those seem to be the (wards) that had consistent flooding in the last three rain events we’ve had,” he said.

During the council meeting, which was live-streamed on the city’s website, two residents called in and expressed concerns related to storm sewers near their homes as a result of the heavy rainfall.

“This is not the first time we’ve had issues, and I’m just wondering how does the city plan to address these?” asked Annette Chance, of Aurora Road. “It’s just a continuing problem. We have had issues for years, and this past year has been especially bad.”

Carolyn Kaschak, of Bainbridge Road, said she’s had three floods in her neighborhood within the past four months.

“(Monday, Sept. 7) I had 4 inches of water,” she said. “There’s nothing wrong with my gutters; I just had new gutters put in. I was down in my basement for six hours (Monday, Sept. 7).”

In response to Chance’s comments, Drsek said permanent repairs will be done on Aurora Road -- including new storm sewers -- as part of the widening of that street. In the meantime, Drsek said he will discuss short-term solutions with both residents.

Drsek said the first phase of the city’s smoke testing of sanitary sewer pipes has been completed. That covered Liberty Road, from Ohio 43 to the city’s south corporation line, and all of Pettibone Road, he said.

Drsek has said that smoke testing of these pipes involves pumping non-toxic smoke through sanitary sewers from utility holes in streets and observing and documenting where smoke exists.

The exiting smoke can indicate the location of a broken pipe, manhole or catch basin, or where roof or foundation drains may be connected to the sewer system, indicating where infiltration or inflow may enter the sanitary sewer system, he said.

“We have sent out letters to residents who have defects that need to be repaired, and the city is in the process of repairing any city defects that came from that smoke testing,” he said.

Drsek said the second phase of smoke testing is due to start Monday (Sept. 14). That will cover the area of the Liberty Hills subdivision, focusing on South Roundhead Drive, Hambleton Drive and Cheshire Place, he said.

The third phase will start on Sept. 28, Drsek said. That will cover Aurora Road east of Highland Road, and proceed to Edith, Portage, Geauga and Willow streets, he said.

“We’re also going to be conducting dye testing once we’ve finished the smoke testing on the residents' (sewer pipes) that have defects, so we can continue to further investigate those areas,” he said. "We are going to prioritize this section of town (Wards 1 and 2), due to the extensive flooding that has happened.

“It is starting to creep up Pettibone Road now,” he continued. “We’ve had four houses on Pettibone that have flooded, and it seems to be a direct result of something that has changed in the last 18 months. We are out in the field trying to identify what has changed.”

Mayor praises city’s efforts

Mayor Ed Kraus assured Chance and Kaschak that the city will address their concerns.

Kraus said the city has spent more than $40 million on sewer repairs and related issues since June 2006, when he said about 1,500 homes flooded in the city and many residents came to a council meeting to complain.

“Over the last 14 years, we have taken a beat-up, old sewer system with many different infiltrations and inflows and put in retention basins,” he said. "We redid the Briar Hill (Lake) dam, we redid streets -- we did Bainbridge Road, we did Pettibone Road.

“I’ve worked with all 59 communities in Northeast Ohio, and there’s not one that does a better job of addressing stormwater issues. And the reason why we only have two people on the line (Tuesday, Sept. 8) is we’ve spent over $40 million making sure.”

Ward 2 Councilman Robert Pelunis thanked Drsek for getting back to him on Labor Day regarding residents in his ward who suffered storm damage.

“We had this problem fixed in certain areas of Ward 2, and over the past two to four years, there are probably about six to eight homes that continually have some storm damage,” he said.

“I just want to thank the service department for continuing to come out to these homes and help the residents throughout the process of trying to figure out why we’re having these storm events and the infiltration into their yard drains, as well as into their basements.”

Several other council members also thanked the city’s service and public works departments for their efforts try to keep the city’s storm sewers working optimally.

“(Monday, Sept. 7) was a real significant rain, and I think had we not done a lot of the infrastructure upgrades that we have done in the last 14 years, I’m sure it would have been much worse,” Ward 4 Councilman Marc Kotora said.

Residents reminded to lock cars

Ward 7 Councilman Bill Russo asked Police Chief Richard Tonelli to address recent issues on some of the city’s “ABC streets” -- streets that start with the letters a, b and c -- related to thefts from and of automobiles.

“People continue to leave their cars unlocked, keys in the car, with items out in full view,” Russo said. “I think there are some precautions that people should be taking.”

Tonelli said the city has had “a rash of thefts from autos and thefts of vehicles from the ABC streets” in recent weeks. But he added that several nearby municipalities also have been hit with similar crimes, citing Twinsburg and Lyndhurst.

“So, I just want to encourage residents and/or their visitors to make sure that they securely lock their vehicles at all times,” he said. "Don’t leave any valuables in plain view in the vehicle. Take it in the home or put it in the trunk, where it’s not visible.

“I want to reassure the citizens that we are patrolling these areas. It’s something that we’re really working on, and we appreciate if the citizens cooperate with us and lock their vehicles.”

Read more from the Chagrin Solon Sun.

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