CEREMONY TO MARK SEWER UPGRADES

More than two years after Cape Girardeau voters approved $25 million in sewer revenue bonds, community leaders will recognize work on the city's outdated sewer system.

Mayor Al Spradling III, City Council members, representatives from Sverdrup Engineers of St. Louis and Robinson Construction Co. of Perryville will meet at 10:30 a.m. today for a groundbreaking ceremony at College and Henderson streets.

The first phase of the project is under way in that neighborhood.

In April 1994, voters approved a bond issue to separate the city's rainwater and sanitary sewer lines. Combination of the two was a common practice prior to the 1960s, City Engineer Mark Lester said.

But it's a dangerous combination, damaging people's homes and the environment. When heavy rains cause the sewers to fill, raw waste bypasses the system and flows into Cape LaCroix Creek by Shawnee Park.

The park plays host to hundreds of children each year for soccer tournaments and other events, and some of those children find their way to the creek.

Some homeowners who failed to install safety devices saw sewage back up into their basements during heavy rains, damaging belongings and driving away basement apartment renters. The mayor said city policy was to encourage homeowners to take precautions, but the homeowners weren't compensated when they didn't.

Until recent improvements were made, Lester said, overflow even bypassed the city's water treatment plant and went straight into the Mississippi River.

But most noticeable to the average Cape Girardeau resident is the smell emanating from gutters.

"In the south part of town on hot summer nights, you can smell it coming out of the inlets," Lester said. "It was only lack of money that kept us from doing something about it a long time ago."

More than 100 homes on the city's south side will be affected by sewer improvements, as the lines running from their homes must be separated. There will be inconveniences, like torn-up yards and driveways.

Also, residents may be unable to use their sinks and toilets for two or more hours when the actual connection is being done, Lester said. Many already have experienced smoke testing of the lines and didn't seem to mind.

The first phase of the separation, to affect southern Cape Girardeau, will cost $10.8 million. The second phase, which will separate lines on the eastern and northeastern sides of town, will cost $17 million.

The work may be completed by 1999.

"We'll have a more healthy, more sanitary situation," Spradling said.