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Our Village, Our News
www.nilesbugle.com
JULY 26, 2012
Vol. 56 No. 42
FLOOD RELIEF IN SIGHT FOR NILES RESIDENTS By Alex V. Hernandez Staff Reporter
A
new program from the village government has been created to address residential flooding, an ongoing problem in Niles. Initiated by Mayor Callero three years ago, the Stormwater Committee was tasked with using documented flooding data from the Niles area over the past 40 years to create a plan to prevent residential flooding. The committee is comprised of multiple heads of village departments and one interested resident, and is chaired by Trustee Joe LoVerde. The Stormwater Committee collected data on flood related storms over three years and, after several town hall meetings where they asked residents for their recommendations, contacted a civil engineering firm to come up with solutions to the flooding
problem. “This program was needed as continued flooding has occurred throughout Niles on many occasions that causes basement backups and overland flood waters to enter homes within low areas,” said LoVerde. According to the Niles Stormwater Commission webpage, the proposed improvements should be implemented over a period of five years and aims to provide relief in residential areas that have combined sewers, a type of sewer system that collects sanitary sewage and storm water runoff in a single pipe system. It is these types of sewers that experience overland flow and sanitary sewer backup in residential basements. Tier I of the Capital Improvement Project is already underway and the total cost of the project is estimated at about $15,000,000 over a five year period. As part of the first phase, Niles
“This program was needed as continued flooding
has occurred throughout Niles on many occasions that causes basement backups and overland flood waters to enter homes within low areas,” Joe LoVerde, trustee residents will be able to apply for an assistance program designed to provide immediate help to Niles residents that are prone to flooding. “Basically a homeowner will fill out an application providing proof of past flooding and answer a series of questions to qualify for the assistance. The maximum dollar amount a homeowner can receive is $4,000. That money is available to install approved overhead sewer systems under the inspection and approval of village staff,” said LoVerde. The overhead sewer system
would be installed in the home and would help eliminate sanitary sewer backup into basements and divert overland flow waters. “I haven’t talked to my neighbors about flooding yet, but I have seen the repairs on the sewers nearby quite often when it rains so I am concerned. And if they are helping pay for the installation, well it’s free money so why not?” said Charisse Bedrejo, who has only recently moved into the Niles area with her husband and children. ahernandez@buglenewspapers.com