Heavy Rains Swell Root River, Sewer Flows Under Control

Based on what Patch users are saying on Facebook, these April showers have stayed out their welcome.

Lou Ann Urness posted, "I have a river running thru (my house). Do you need a fishing license if you are fishing in your house?" 

Yvonne Erdman was also keeping her sense of humor.

"Yep, I never noticed that we had a river in our backyard before," she wrote.

According to the National Weather Service, the Root River in Racine is near flood stage, with the latest observed depth of 6.59 feet. Flood stage is 7 feet. Forecasts show it should begin to drop on Friday. There is minor flooding of the Root River Canal in Raymond. The canal is at 9.49 feet. Flood stage is 9 feet.

The Root River is currently discharging 3,030 cubic feet of water per second, according to the United States Geological Survey. The average discharge is 398 cubic feet per second, and the max recorded flow was 2,450 cubic feet per second in 2008. 

But the sewer and sanitary water systems designed to handle heavy water treatment flows are keeping up, according to Keith Haas, general manager of the Racine Water and Wastewater Utility.

"We have been utilizing the storage tools ... Everything is operating as designed," he wrote in an email to Wastewater Commission members Thursday.

The treatment plant - which can handle up to 100 million gallons per day - exceeded that threshold early Thursday morning, Haas said in the email, forcing the Utility to blend the sewage water according to state Department of Natural Resources standards for direct discharge into Lake Michigan.

Sturtevant Trustee Chris Wright noted that while this sounds bad, forward thinking in Racine County - such as increased storage tanks and numerous retention ponds and the Pike River project - means raw sewage isn't getting dumped into the water supply like what has recently been reported in Milwaukee County.

"It appears that our systems have been able to handle the intense rain amounts that we have received. Projects like the Hiawatha Crossing Retention Ponds in Sturtevant have helped slow these flows," he wrote in an email to Patch. "Investing over the years in separating the storm and sanitary systems have helped us avoid the problems that Milwaukee faces each time we have heavy rains."

Caledonia Village President Bob Bradley said the systems in place keep untreated sewage out of water systems benefits everyone.

"Bills are based on capacity so increased capacity helps reduce bills," he said. "Keeping the sewage out of rivers, lakes and basements is good for everyone."