Officials Will Begin Investigating Illegal Sump-Pump Use

Borough officials are looking to investigate ways to put an end to the illegal use of sump-pumps which the borough’s engineer says is the cause of the sewerage overflow that caused flooding and damage to some homes on the east side of town following Hurricane Irene.

After hearing from a number of homeowners Tuesday night, officials and Borough Engineer Kenneth Job spoke about ways they can look into fixing the ongoing problem.

William Raleigh of Burr Place, who has lived in his home for 30 years, said he’s had occasional incidents in the past but in the past year alone has now had sewer backup about 14 times including the hurricane.  

Kimberly and Eric Muniz and neighbor David Cammaratta experienced property damage they say was caused by a storm drain that blew causing flooding to Cammaratta’s property which then overflowed onto the Muniz property ruining the foundation and basement of the home.

Orlando and Claudia Oliveris represented a group of three homes on Prospect Avenue they say all get sewer back-up during heavy rain events such as Irene.  Orlando Oliveris said he has seen these incidents occur over the past 16 years and it’s only getting worse.

Job explained how the illegal use of sump-pumps causes the problems these homeowners are experiencing. 

Sump-pump are supposed to be released onto one’s property or in extreme cases like Hurricane Irene directly into the street, Job explained. However if sump-pumps are illegally draining into a slop sink or directly into the sewer system it causes it to overflow.  The system that serves the area of these homes takes in about three-fourths of the town’s waste, Job said. Normally the system is about half full or less but during such a heavy rainfall like Irene along with illegal sump-pump dumping, it overflows.

Homeowners can install devices such as a backflow meter which is designed to shut down pipes to prevent backups however they can be costly as they run about $2,000 to $3,000 per home, Job explained.  Trying to expand the entire sewer system by adding pipes to spread out the flow over a larger area is physically possible, Job said but it would cost the borough millions upon millions of dollars.

Therefore Job said he believes the only way to end the problem is stop the illegal use of sump-pumps however finding out which homes may be doing this may be challenging.

Tests can give a general idea of what areas the water is coming from but it is difficult to pinpoint exactly, Job explained. The borough has sent out numerous letters to homeowners over the years but officials say it’s not enough. Also the borough just can’t enter homes to investigate just based on suspicion, officials said.

Mayor Rose Heck stated that borough will form an educational committee made up of representatives of the environmental committee, health department, DPW and some of the homeowners dealing with these problems who are the real victims in this to investigate and put an end to it.

Situations like a young mother having to leave her home with her infant because of the smell in the house is completely unacceptable, the mayor said.

Heck said she has faith in this community and believes that if those who are doing this learn of the harm they are causing to others, they will stop.