Sewage Gets Into La Grange Residents' Homes

LA GRANGE, IL — One of the complaints from last weekend's flooding in La Grange is that sewage ended up in homes.

Some residents experienced flooding because of stormwater, while others received sewer water. In some cases, residents may have seen both.

Village President Mark Kuchler addressed the sewage issue at Monday's Village Board meeting. This situation happens when the deep tunnel fills up, causing sewage to move into the lowest points — in other words, the sewers in residents' basements, he said.

Other towns, Kuchler said, have policies partially offsetting residents' costs to install overhead sewer systems to solve this problem. La Grange should consider doing the same, he said.

"There's obviously limited funds," he said. "Is it equitable to pay some portion of these projects when other neighbors did it a week ago, a year ago or 10 years ago? And that's the balancing act. The board would take your opinions on that to heart... We will consider that if there's support in the community."

See related story: Angry La Grange Residents Tell Off Village Board