After a weekend of wet weather the City of Bloomington is in clean up mode.
The Public Works department remains busy clearing mud and debris from streets and intersections with critical areas being addressed first. “With more rain in the forecast it’s imperative drain inlets can operate at 100% capacity,” said Director of Public Works Kevin Kothe.
A Bloomington resident Amanda Hill suffered water damages in her semi-finished basement and said her basement accumulated about three inches of standing water.
“There was probably about three inches of standing water throughout our whole basement and then that drained overnight, but then when it rained again on Saturday, same exact thing happened and it filled back up again,” said Hill. “We have State Farm for insurance, so we called them, and as of right now, they’re covering a $12,000 max for us personally, which our damage is way over $12,000.”
Hill said it was coming up through the floor drains, and up through the toilet and the shower in their basement.
“Leaves were coming out, so it was clearly it was nasty sewer water,” said Hill. “I know some of my neighbors have said that their coverage was only covering $5,000, and they’ve got a lot more damage than that too.”
Hill said she knows that this has happened to a bunch of people in town.
“State Farm approved water restoration or mitigation companies for us to call and we’ve called both of them, and one of them is putting us three weeks out on a waiting list and the other one said we’re like 500% in line,” said Hill. “That’s a little scary that this many people are having this issue and we have to do something. We have to get this stuff out of our basement because we can’t wait three weeks and let it sit like that. The carpeting is so soaking wet that it’s too heavy for us to get out of there.”
Hill is in Ward 8 right off Mercer and Oakland area. Hill said she knows that there was an issue that was supposed to be fixed.
“I also heard that the infrastructure collapsed and that’s why we are having this issue,” said Hill.
This is a Bloomington City council meeting from May 2020, after receiving mass amounts of rain Kothe gave the council a presentation on sewer infrastructure.
“Over the past couple of days, our city experienced an unprecedented amount of precipitation that has resulted in significant property damage for some of our residents,” said Bloomington Mayor Mboka Mwilambwe. “I am thankful that everyone is reported safe. I am also thankful for our city employees response to address the issues reported but also for residents helping each other out, a true sign of our character as a community.”
Bloomington resident Brein Huffman said she had severe flooding at her residence caused by faulty sewer lines. Huffman said many in Bloomington have this issue.
“This is the first time it’s happened in here though. Insurance won’t be covering our basement floor because it can up through the drains and toilets. This seems to be a common theme for many,” said Huffman. “So far it seems Wards 1, 4 and 8 were hit the hardest with flooding from what I can gather.”
Ward 4 is where Huffman resides. She reached out to Alderwoman Julie Emig. Emig stated in a Facebook message response: “So sorry about this. The current Locust Colton project to separate the sewers is expected to help. In any event I will contact Public Works directly for more information.”
A screen capture provided by Brein Huffman, a Bloomington resident.
In a press release the City of Bloomington shared:
If a resident suffered damage due to the storms and feel the City bears any fault, they can file a claim via telephone by doing the following: Report a claim to PMA Companies by phone: 1-800-476-2669.
You will be issued a claim number.
Please write that claim number on all future correspondence to PMA.
“As assessment continues citywide there are plans in the works that will help ease the burden residents are facing with clean up. Details on that will be made available Monday afternoon,” said Mwilambwe.
McLean County remains under a Flash Flood Watch through Tuesday, June 29, 2021 at 7 p.m.
