In Brief: Northville Residents Ask City for Repairs and Compensation After Sewage Backups

About a dozen people attended the Northville City Council meeting Monday night to ask the city to review the sewer and wastewater system at the intersection of Novi and Allen streets, just north of Eight Mile Road.

Deborah Peterson, a Novi Street resident, told the City Council that on May 25, the sewer system backed up and flooded her basement as well as those of about eight other nearby residences.

“There is no way to describe the trauma this has caused,” she said as she described the damage and cleanup effort that ensued. And, she added, it is not the first time sewage has flooded her basement as a result of a backup.

Peterson asked the City Council to do three things: conduct a study of the sewer system at the intersection, compensate the residents for their damages and replace the system.

She said the city should be held liable for the damages because it knew about the problems with two 8-inch pipes, one for sewage and another for storm water, combining at the 10-inch pipe at the intersection.

City Manager Patrick Sullivan said he did not know of previous occasions of backups in that area. He said that such complaints in the city are infrequent.

Mayor Christopher Johnson said that the City Council would ask the city manager and director of the Department of Public Works, Jim Gallogly, to investigate.

Correction: A previous version of this story erroneously stated the intersection of the storm and wastewater system. It is located at Novi and Allen streets.