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Peru residents demand answers for sewer backup · Illinois Valley - Shaw Local

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  Speaker 1: Peru residents demand answers for sewer backup. Written by Tom Collins,
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  Speaker 1: This article is being read by an automated voice brought
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  Speaker 1: to you by Everlett. Why was there a sewer backup
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  Speaker 1: last month in some Peru neighborhoods? City officials are no
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  Speaker 1: closer to identifying a cause at this point, I can't
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  Speaker 1: honestly give you an answer, Jeff King, the city's public
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  Speaker 1: services manager, said Monday at the Peru City Council meeting.
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  Speaker 1: It isn't for lack of trying. Torrential rain over Independence
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  Speaker 1: Day weekend resulted in some residents experiencing stormwater backup, which
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  Speaker 1: was bad enough, but other residents had sewer backup that
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  Speaker 1: spewed filth into their homes. An immediate inspection of some
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  Speaker 1: lines didn't yield much of an explanation, but King's response
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  Speaker 1: didn't land well with five residents who complained about sewer
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  Speaker 1: backup and the city's response during the public comment period
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  Speaker 1: Monday at the Peru City Council meeting. Some of the
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  Speaker 1: answers we've heard tonight really are not good enough, said
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  Speaker 1: Gina Kohler, a resident of Herbert Street. Chris Suarez, a
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  Speaker 1: resident of Church Street, dismissed any suggestion that the backup
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  Speaker 1: was related to a weather event. It was not rainwater,
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  Speaker 1: That's not the case, and blamed the backup on a
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  Speaker 1: lack of city maintenance. He also was displeased with a
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  Speaker 1: lack of responsiveness. It kind of feels like it's your problem,
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  Speaker 1: deal with it, Suarez said. As previously reported, sewer backup
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  Speaker 1: was reported at numerous homes following heavy July rains. City
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  Speaker 1: workers scoped several lines. More remained to be inspected and
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  Speaker 1: did pull out several foreign objects, but found nothing to
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  Speaker 1: explain the backup. Alderman Jason Edgecombe said he has a theory. However,
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  Speaker 1: the only best guess is all that stuff built as
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  Speaker 1: a block and then broke up. Edgecomb said, I can't
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  Speaker 1: tell you it's safe until we see that line all
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  Speaker 1: the way up north. Edgecomb further suggested affected residents hold
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  Speaker 1: off on refinishing their basements unless and until the city
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  Speaker 1: has pinpointed a larger issue. One idea floated is installing
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  Speaker 1: injector pits. The city once had a program to defray
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  Speaker 1: the costs of residential installation, but talks of reviving the
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  Speaker 1: funding program have not resulted in Council action Alderman Tom
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  Speaker 1: Payton said he regretted any mistaken impression that city officials
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  Speaker 1: are unconcerned. We do feel for you, We truly really do,
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  Speaker 1: and I apologize for the communication you've not had, Peyton said,
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  Speaker 1: and we'll try to be better with that. Mayor Ken
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  Speaker 1: Kolowski disavowed that it was a citywide failure and said
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  Speaker 1: he bore responsibility for the lack of outreach. I should
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  Speaker 1: have come out there and gone door to door, Kolowski said,
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  Speaker 1: I didn't do that, and it was wrong.