Aug. 8, 2024 3:30p
(WGTD)---A rare blockage in a 24-inch diameter sewer pipe that backed up sewage into the basements of nearly two-dozen homes in Kenosha’s Whitecaps neighborhood is still under investigation.
Kenosha Water Utility Director Curt Czarnecki tells WGTD the first call from a resident came in Sunday around noon from the 9200 blk. of 66th St.
Within two hours, a hastily assembled crew examined sections of pipe totaling a half-mile before coming across the jam-up along Hwy. 50 and a few blocks west of Highway ‘H’. Czarnecki said the blockage included a mass of flushable wipes, but wipes weren’t necessarily the ultimate cause of the problem.
Crews have spent the week flushing out pipes in the area and examining them with underground cameras.
Czarnecki says he wants to examine all of the evidence and talk to crew members who were on the job before coming up with a likely cause. Eventually he’ll file a report with the Board of Water Commissioners and the city attorney’s office.
Sewer backups are not uncommon, but it’s rare for a jam-up to occur in a pipe as large as the one that got blocked on Sunday.
The city attorney’s office will be reviewing damage claims that have been filed by the affected residents, who say they incurred thousands of dollars worth of losses.
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