MONROE, La. – Monroe City Council will vote to adopt several Emergency Ordinances regarding city sewage issues at Tuesday’s meeting.
One of these ordinances involves declaring the bar screen at the Texas Avenue Pump Station a failure. According to Charles Westrom, City Sewer Manager, the screen removes large items from the water flow.
The city is working on a long-term repair, but it’s also working on a temporary solution as well.
“They will see some relief sooner rather than later, but there’s still, if we get these massive rains, it’s still going to overwhelm the system. It’s, unfortunately, that’s just what’s going to happen,” said Kim Golden, City Engineer.
A second ordinance involves fixing sewer issues found in a section of North Monroe that could lead to the system being overwhelmed during heavy rains. Golden said they’re also conducting a citywide study to address issues on a wider scale as well.
“What that is going to do is help us figure out where the most in-flow is occurring in these other sewer basins,” she said.
According to Golden, Monroe has a “closed system,” which means issues in one area could be affecting a completely different part of the city. For instance, she said common mistakes people make in residential areas could contribute to sewer problems somewhere like Midtown.
“It may not be giving them a problem. It may not even be giving their particular neighborhood a problem, but because it’s getting into the system and overwhelming the problem, they’re contributing to the issues other people have,” she said.
Golden said some of these common problems include people leaving clean-out caps off, or letting flower beds drain where they shouldn’t. She said a helpful way to make sure these problems aren’t happening is to call a plumber.
“Because it is a closed system. And so it just makes it really clear that we need each other, and that we’re all in this together. And so that’s why it matters that what you do on your property is impacting other people in the system,” she said.
A third ordinance involves a broken motor at the Pine Street Storm Station. Public Works Director Tom Janeway said the station is still operating at 100 percent, as the pump that failed was a spare.
Janeway said they will be sending out letters to homeowners where issues were found to ask them to address any problems.
