Frustrated residents demand some answers

Whitefish Bay — In a hot, crowded meeting room Monday night, residents told Village Board members their stories of flood damage, sewer backups and neighbors helping neighbors during last month's flooding.

But in the end, they all pretty much had the same questions: Why us? Why here? What happens if it rains again?

There were more than 200 residents in a standing-room only crowd in the second meeting room at the library. The air conditioning didn't appear to be working, it was hot, and people wanted answers.

Some were calling for the firing of village staff, while others wanted more meetings to discuss solutions to the sewer backups.

Frustration mounts

Robert Crawford, 5017 N. Palisades Road, said he lost more than $35,000 worth of property in the two recent storms.

"I have lived all over and I have never had sewage come up through my toilets," said resident Robert Crawford, who told the board he lost more than $35,000 in property at his home on Palisades Road. "This is like living in a Third World city. This place is turning into a slum because the sewage system doesn't work and we need to make it work."

Residents are dealing with the aftermath of two heavy rainstorms that hit the area. On July 15, 102 houses had damaged from sewer backups after about 4 inches of rain fell, according to the village. Another 640 houses reported backups on July 22 after a rainfall of more than 8 inches.

Milwaukee County estimates that the July 22 storm caused more than $10 million in damage to homes and businesses in Whitefish Bay - more than any other community in the county, including Milwaukee.

Many hit numerous times

Among the many compelling stories about the July 22 event came from those residents who have been flooded multiple times. More than a dozen people said they have been flooded five times since 1997, with several dozen saying they have been flooded three times since 2008. They said they don't understand why the village cannot solve the problem that has led to multiple floods.

Some thought the many road and sewer construction projects in the village contributed to the flooding.

"I think the construction on Oakland added to this," said Don Strike, 4811 N. Bartlett Ave. "We never had back ups like this."

Tom and Corrina Trettin, 4975 N. Woodruff Ave., had five feet of water in their basement and water from the street reaching to their front and back doors.

"Anytime it rains more than an inch we have water in the intersection of Woodruff and Fairmount," he said.

Corrina Trettin told the board she believes the number of homes that had damage is much higher then reported. She developed a questionnaire and handed it out to neighbors and to people attending the meeting, passing the forms onto the village.

"My wife is passing out a questionnaire," Tom Trettin said. "I think that is sad. That is something the village should be doing."

Village Manager Jim Grassman gave the updated numbers, 102 houses with damage from sewer back ups on July 15 after about four inches of rain fell, 640 houses reporting backups on July 22 after a rainfall of more than 8 inches.

Grassman said rain water getting into the sanitary sewer system caused much of the problems in the village.

"Clear water in the system is the enemy of everyone," he said. Rain water enters sanitary sewers through cracks in the laterals to houses or in the sewers themselves.

He also sought to dispel a rumor in the village. Some believe the level of back ups in their basements dropped rapidly because someone opened a gate or pushed a button.

"There is no gate, no button," he said. "Our hypothesis is that as the water receded, it created capacity in the sewers for the flow out from the basements." People asked why the village did not do bypass pumping, pumping out the sewers and dumping into a storm sewer.

Grassman said that was not done because there was no place to pump to, the entire system was full, both storm and sanitary sewers. They are separate systems in the village, he noted.

His explanations did little to soothe residents.

Many were offended by a sheet of paper left on each chair in the room. The paper, provided by the village, explained how rain water enters private laterals. Some immediately thought the village was blaming residents for the back ups.

"This document blames the citizens of Whitefish Bay for the flood," said Mike Miller, 4842 N. Sheffield Ave.

Working to prevent rain water from entering the system is one solution that the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District supports.

Mike Martin of MMSD and a village resident said MMSD has a six year plan to fund repairs of private laterals.

There were perhaps a hundred questions asked. Village President Kathleen Pritchard said village staff would begin working on the answers to them, posting the answers of the village web site as information becomes available. Some questions will take some time to answer, she said, as data from the storm is analyzed.

Pritchard said more public meetings will likely be held to gather information and update residents. The item will be on the Village Board agenda for the foreseeable future, she said, and residents are always invited to attend those meetings.

Meg and Joe Jansky, 4611 N. Wildwood Ave., live one house north of the village border with Shorewood. They had water up to the first floor.

They want to know if the village and Shorewood will work together to solve the sewer problems. But more than that they worry about the sound of a heavy rain.

"I'm scared about what to do when it rains again," said Meg Jansky who said her family fled their home on July 22. "Can you answer that question first?"

No one had an answer to that question.

102

Number of homes that experienced sewer backups in Whitefish Bay after the July 15 rainstorm

640

Number of backups reported after the July 22 storm

$10.7 million

Total flood damage estimate in Whitefish Bay