Water Your Thoughts – Sunset Road Stormwater Sources Survey

In mid-October, (ALMU) kicked off the Sunset Road Stormwater Source Survey—another in the many ways we are working to reduce stormwater in the sanitary sewer and basement flooding.

Stormwater can enter the sanitary sewer several ways. It can enter directly if the pipes or manholes are cracked or leaking. It can also enter the directly through cross connections to the storm sewer (a practice used decades ago). Another source for stormwater entering the sanitary sewer is private property. A property may have downspouts, yard drains, driveway drains, or the foundation drain connected to the sanitary lateral. (Of those four, it is only legal to have a gravity foundation drain connected to the sanitary lateral.) Additionally, the sanitary cleanout cap might be missing or the sanitary lateral might be cracked.

ALMU thinks it is wrong for stormwater to surcharge the sanitary sewer. That is why ALMU is conducting the survey on Sunset Road to determine the sources of stormwater. Why Sunset? Because it represents a typical formerly combined sewer area in Avon Lake. We have recently installed flow meters to track how the Sunset Road sanitary sewer is affected during storms. We will be performing detailed investigations of the sanitary and storm sewers to see if there are direct sources of stormwater entering the sanitary sewer.

We have extended the sump disconnection pilot program to include residents on Sunset Road and will be inspecting homes to determine if they have a sump that is improperly connected to the sanitary sewer. In other formerly combined sewer areas of the City, we have found 1/3 of the houses have improper connections; and we offer a program to help defray some of the cost of repairs (see www.avonlakewater.org for details). During our investigation, we will also confirm that the other stormwater sources such as downspouts, yard drains, and driveway drains continue to not be connected to the sanitary sewer. These were all disconnected during the combined sewer separation project about fifteen years ago, and residents may be subject to fines if they have been reconnected.

Any stormwater that enters the sanitary sewer helps contribute to sewer surcharges and basement flooding during intense storms. We ask residents in other areas of the City to assure that they are also preventing stormwater from entering their sanitary lateral and to contact us if they would like to take part in the sump separation program. Friends and neighbors who have been affected by basement flooding several times this year appreciate the efforts of every resident.

The Sunset Road Stormwater Sources Survey is one of the many ways Avon Lake Municipal Utilities is working to end stormwater surcharges in the sanitary sewer and help prevent basement flooding. To better inform residents what we are doing, we are co-hosting meetings from 7 PM to 9 PM on Nov. 16 at and Nov. 17 at to unveil new projects/concepts to reduce basement flooding and hope to see you there.