DAVENPORT, Iowa -
An ongoing News 8 on your side investigation found new problems for a Davenport woman. Kitty James is dealing with water in the basement of her Davenport home. She called 8 On Your Side this week asking for help, and through some calls by 8 On Your Side reporter Chris Williams, the city agreed to investigate the problem.
Thursday, the city rerouted the sewer around her home, hoping it would allow them to insert a camera into the city line and get a better view of the situation. That rerouting stopped water from coming through a hole in an abandoned sewer pipe.
There was still water finding it's way into the basement, but for the first time in weeks the sump pumps were running far less often.
Tuesday, WQAD showed how Kitty's problems began during last summer's flooding. Kitty says the floor in her basement buckled so bad it tipped when someone walked on it. FEMA helped with some of the repairs, and she poured thousands of dollars of her own money into the work.
This winter, water returned, as well as two weeks ago. She called 8 On Your Side this week fearing a forecast of 1 to 2 inches of rain and having discovered a mystery and now abandoned pipe.
She believes the city would not have acknowledged a problem had she not called WQAD. After some calls, the city of Davenport paid for a plumber with a camera to look through Kitty's sewer lateral, which is the line connecting the home's sewer to the city's system. The line appeared fine
Thursday, more then a dozen people were at Kitty's home, including the interim Davenport public works director and two other supervisors. They sent two cameras into the lines as Kitty watched. This time, the cameras may have caught the problem. City workers told Kitty her lateral has holes in it, and is designed in a way that allows sewer water back in.
Interim public works director Dennis Ryan says that's "Something that's not allowed by plumbing code now but when this was put in however may years ago 90 years ago it was allowed back"
"I can't believe all of that water is coming from my lateral, my lateral may need to be replaced but I still don't believe that's where the water is coming from" says Kitty.
When asked if fixing the lateral pipe does not fix the problem, Ryan says "Well we're hoping that there's some excavation for the other pipe areas where it comes in too we can do some sampling of water to trace the source of it to help".
Kitty believes that when the city routes the sewer back to her home, she'll end up with water back in her basement. She says she has no other choice than to keep an eye on the pumps and try to figure out how to pay to fix the lateral.
The city of Davenport has loan programs that may help homeowners like Kitty, but they then face having a lien placed on their property.
Thursday, the city rerouted the sewer around her home, hoping it would allow them to insert a camera into the city line and get a better view of the situation. That rerouting stopped water from coming through a hole in an abandoned sewer pipe.
There was still water finding it's way into the basement, but for the first time in weeks the sump pumps were running far less often.
Tuesday, WQAD showed how Kitty's problems began during last summer's flooding. Kitty says the floor in her basement buckled so bad it tipped when someone walked on it. FEMA helped with some of the repairs, and she poured thousands of dollars of her own money into the work.
This winter, water returned, as well as two weeks ago. She called 8 On Your Side this week fearing a forecast of 1 to 2 inches of rain and having discovered a mystery and now abandoned pipe.
She believes the city would not have acknowledged a problem had she not called WQAD. After some calls, the city of Davenport paid for a plumber with a camera to look through Kitty's sewer lateral, which is the line connecting the home's sewer to the city's system. The line appeared fine
Thursday, more then a dozen people were at Kitty's home, including the interim Davenport public works director and two other supervisors. They sent two cameras into the lines as Kitty watched. This time, the cameras may have caught the problem. City workers told Kitty her lateral has holes in it, and is designed in a way that allows sewer water back in.
Interim public works director Dennis Ryan says that's "Something that's not allowed by plumbing code now but when this was put in however may years ago 90 years ago it was allowed back"
"I can't believe all of that water is coming from my lateral, my lateral may need to be replaced but I still don't believe that's where the water is coming from" says Kitty.
When asked if fixing the lateral pipe does not fix the problem, Ryan says "Well we're hoping that there's some excavation for the other pipe areas where it comes in too we can do some sampling of water to trace the source of it to help".
Kitty believes that when the city routes the sewer back to her home, she'll end up with water back in her basement. She says she has no other choice than to keep an eye on the pumps and try to figure out how to pay to fix the lateral.
The city of Davenport has loan programs that may help homeowners like Kitty, but they then face having a lien placed on their property.
