Marble Hill drowning in water problems

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- For the Marble Hill Board of Aldermen, water is everywhere -- backing up in people's basements, flooding businesses and other property, and running through shut-off water meters.

Some water falls freely. Some is considered too costly. And it remains to be seen whether any of it will flow into the municipal swimming pool this year.

A recent rainfall dumped 9 inches of water into the basement of a house at 104 Exit St., owned by Sharon Rogers and occupied by her son-in-law, Cory Lambert, and his family. The sewer line on city property was clogged at an adjacent property, causing sewer water to flow into a storm sewer, which dumped into the lowest point to where it could flow -- the basement of Lambert's residence, destroying nearly everything in it.

Lambert and Rogers wanted to know what the city planned to do about solving the problem, which had happened before, and whether the city would pay for the cleanup, which is expected to cost $1,500 to $2,000. Homeowners and renters insurance will not cover the costs, Lambert and Rogers said.

City employees augered the clog out of the line, and Rogers said she may have to install a backflow to keep the property from being flooded again, but that could divert any future excess water to neighboring property.

Old pipes, years of neglect and lack of maintenance have caused the storm sewer to dump water into the sanitary sewer system throughout town. The two systems are supposed to be separate.

Alderman Kenneth Trentham said he has fought a similar situation on his property for 12 years. "The city has refused to do anything about what the EPA says is a 'no-no'," Trentham said.

Trentham agrees with Lambert and Rogers the city should pay for the damage to the Exit Street property because the fault lies with the city's sewer line. However, the city has taken no action.

City administrator Ron Lutes was asked to go to the property with Scott Jenkins of the water department to inspect the area to see where the fault lies and bring back a recommendation to the May 12 aldermen's meeting.

Rogers said the water department and Lutes did not keep their appointment. She said water backed up again into her basement.

Cecil Long brought to the board of aldermen a problem with property on 503 Mound St. on behalf of his friend Chris Olmetti, who has lived there for the past five years. Olmetti has complained several times to the city, Long said, about a leak that results in her having to pay water bills over $100 nearly every month. The meter, installed about five months ago, shows a use of 24,000 to 29,000 gallons monthly.

Long said city water employees have inspected the property several times, and each time have said they found no leaks outside the house, despite a wet spot Long said is near it. Out of frustration, Olmetti refused to pay the last water bill, and the city cut her off. But the water meter continues to register water use, Long said, adding that recently water department employees were on the property after the water had been disconnected and in 15 minutes, the meter registered 10 gallons of water had been used. The meter doesn't run steadily, he said, but goes on and off.

"She's frustrated," he said. "She's been dealing with this for five years."

Lutes and Jenkins also were asked to visit the property, owned by a Piedmont, Missouri, resident, to see whether they can find where the problem is.

The heavy rainfall on a recent weekend, which closed streets and roads and caused Crooked Creek to overflow, also created unexpected problems. Raising Highway 34 to keep Woodland School from being flooded created water flow into Marble Hill that Trentham said made flooding "worse instead of better."

Also, TJ's Feed Store off Highway 34 was flooded because drainage pipes installed for the Dollar General Store across the road proved to be too small for the amount of water carried through them, and instead backed up and covered the highway, destroying the driveway on the store's property. Trentham suggested the city should contact the Missouri Department of Transportation about fixing that problem because the owner of TJ's said he has tried contacting MoDOT, which has not responded. Dollar General owns the pipes, and MoDOT is responsible for repairs.

In addition to all the trouble with excess water, residents complain that water rates are too high. Trentham earlier had asked Lutes to look into the way the water bills are figured to see whether they could be lowered to make them more affordable, especially for low water usage and people on fixed incomes.

Lutes reported at a recent board of aldermen meeting that a state agency that works with the city on its water and sewer project had addressed the city's rate structure, stating the rates are what they are to retain the city's ability to qualify for water project grants.

"If we cut back the rates, there's a chance we'd lose out on grant money," Lutes said. "Water rates were too low for too long, and there hasn't been any maintenance done for a long time. Look at how many repairs and clogged lines there are. We have to pay the piper."

Water and sewer rates were structured in that money would be set aside for maintenance and repair costs, Lutes said. The water department is supporting itself through its revenue, but the sewer department is "running $16,000 to $17,000 in the hole every year."

Though other communities have water rates about half of Marble Hill's, Lutes said those other communities have other revenue sources that help subsidize the water department.

For that matter, he told the aldermen, so does Marble Hill. "You are taking at least $120,000 from other funds and funding water and sewer," he said.

The largest part of the cost overrun is labor, Lutes said.

"We need grants to take care of these costs," he said.

The city's $7.1 million water and sewer project is expected to begin construction in mid-June, Lutes said, and should be finished by 2016.