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Raw sewage, floods have plagued Cahokia Heights for years, will take years to fix, leaving residents to deal with health issues, damage

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Illinois

* Back in 2021, the Belleville News-Democrat wrote a story questioning why Cahokia Heights hadn’t fixed floods of raw sewage…

People who live in at least 54 homes in the 4.29 square mile area struggle with flash flooding, raw sewage in yards and homes that does not drain away and drinking water they don’t trust, according to residents and two lawyers who have taken up their cause. […]

Nelson and another lawyer, Kalila Jackson, say they have been trying to get help for Centreville residents for nearly two years. Nelson is the founder and executive director of Equity Legal Services, a nonprofit that provides free legal services for low income people. Jackson works for the Metropolitan St. Louis Equal Housing and Opportunity Council, a not-for-profit agency that fights against housing discrimination. […]

The lawyers say pump stations designed to pull sewage away from the area are barely functional, non-functional or aren’t turned on during heavy rain, leaving raw sewage and stormwater in the Centreville streets, on residents’ lawns and inside their homes.

Even a small amount of rain can cause flash flooding, Nelson said, sometimes reaching up to 2 feet high and taking weeks to recede. She said the soil is almost constantly saturated because of the drainage issues.

In 2003, Commonfields of Cahokia Water and Sewage District took over Centreville’s and Alorton’s sewer district. The agency did not respond to a BND request for comment on the issues in Centreville and phone calls to the office yielded no answers.

* KSDK in March…

Environmental attorneys representing a group of Cahokia Heights residents want the judge to rule that the community’s troubled sewer system is violating federal law.

Attorneys from Earthjustice filed a motion for summary judgement last week. They are asking for the court to rule the sewer system violates the Clean Water Act. […]

This issue has been a local and state conversation for years. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker (D-IL) announced a $10 million dollar sewer overhaul plan last August. He said the reason for the plan hasn’t progressed quicker comes down to local officials.

“The challenge has been that there is paperwork that still hasn’t been submitted, we’re trying to help local officials to get that in order,” he said of the plan in a news conference in February. But local officials like State Representative Kevin Schmidt (R-Millstadt) said the governor is moving too slow.

Click here to see the lawsuit.

* In May, Cahokia Heights signed a deal with the Army Corps of Engineers to fix the sewer lines…

The Metro East city’s water woes have lasted for years. But, finally, there’s an agreement to repair the ailing infrastructure.

“We hope to start actual construction if not later this year, than early next year,” Hurst Roche Senior project manager Jim Nold said in a press conference Wednesday.

Unfortunately, repair work could take up to five years … a wait long overdue for resident Walter Byrd. He showed us around his street on a rainy February day in 2020. […]

There is a looming problem that could bring work to a standstill … money.

“We may be, on the high end another $10 to $15 million short,” Cahokia Heights Mayor Curtis McCall Sr. says. “On the low end, maybe another $8 million.”

* Last month, Fox 2…

The EPA has appointed a coordinator to help the Cahokia Heights community combat flooding, sewage, and drinking water concerns.

Beth Murphy, a 20-year veteran of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, has been named the inaugural coordinator of this effort.

According to the EPA, Cahokia Heights residents have cited nearly 100 documented instances of sewage coming out of government-owned pipes and into their homes since 2019. Many around the community are struggling to find money for necessary repairs.

Murphy, as a coordinator, will focus on ensuring that funds are quickly and responsibly disbursed to the community, in addition to federal, state and local funding efforts.

* The Belleville News-Democrat published a trio of stories today about the lack of action from local government and statewide agencies. Let’s start off with their breakdown…

Sewage and floodwater bring the threat of bacteria, parasites, viruses and mold into homes in Cahokia Heights. Universities conducting an independent health study have found more than 40% of adults out of an initial sample of 42 had the same bacterial infection. Researchers from Washington University in St. Louis and the University of Colorado continue studying the prevalence of bacteria and parasites in Cahokia Heights and how residents are being exposed. Residents say stomach, respiratory and heart conditions are common among their neighbors.

Public health agencies are responsible for handling serious health threats like exposure to sewage, but the East Side Health District and Illinois Department of Public Health did little to nothing for residents in Cahokia Heights. The local and state agencies haven’t investigated the possible health effects of sewage exposure or fully informed residents of the risks, according to statements from public health officials, interviews with residents and a BND review of educational material the local agency provided to citizens.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency became more involved in Cahokia Heights two years ago, ordering the city to repair the sewer system and water providers to monitor drinking water. Now, another agency has started working in Cahokia Heights. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is gathering information about residents’ health concerns and coordinating with the EPA, according to federal officials. Health and Human Services’ involvement comes after it investigated public health agencies in another part of the country with the Justice Department for failing to take action when sewage spilled into neighborhoods.

* More from the BND…

The Illinois Department of Public Health downplayed the seriousness of H. pylori in response to BND questions about what the agency might do to assess the health effects of sewage exposure in Cahokia Heights in light of the study’s preliminary findings. Mike Claffey, the state agency’s spokesperson, said H. pylori is one of the most common chronic bacterial infections worldwide.

Claffey pointed to a study of data from a CDC survey in the U.S. between 1988 and 1991. The study estimated about half of U.S. adults over 60 had been exposed to H. pylori based on antibodies found in blood testing.

A study of an updated CDC survey between 1999 and 2000 found the numbers were declining in older age. Both estimated an average of around 30% of adults had been exposed to the bacteria.

The study in Cahokia Heights, on the other hand, analyzed stool samples showing how many people were actively infected.

Most people don’t experience symptoms from H. pylori.

One of the researchers in Cahokia Heights, Washington University Professor Theresa Gildner, said she and her colleagues hypothesize that healthy bacteria can help keep it in check. They think it can make people feel sick if they’re exposed to a lot of H. pylori or other pathogens in the environment because of something like sewage spills. Lyles, 64, said she was so sick from the bacteria that she couldn’t eat or drink anything — even water — without stomach cramping, nausea and vomiting. She lost about 12 pounds the first time she had it and 15 pounds the second.

You can read how local officials dodged BND’s questions and interview requests here. Click here for a detailed timeline.

posted by Isabel Miller
Monday, Nov 13, 23 @ 12:51 pm

Comments

Metro East provides compelling (and to me, irrefutable) proof in favor of metropolitan-wide local government, similar to Indianapolis.

Comment by Anyone Remember Monday, Nov 13, 23 @ 1:04 pm
For every story about why local input and control on various issues is super important, there are dozens more that show why certain extremely important infrastructure projects should basically never be done at a local level, unless the locality in question is big enough to be its own major metropolitan region itself.

Comment by Homebody Monday, Nov 13, 23 @ 1:25 pm
Hypothesize…sounds way better than guess… I guess?

Comment by Dotnonymous x Monday, Nov 13, 23 @ 1:36 pm
I’d suggest using that fed money to create vouchers for each resident to pay for installing backflow preventers in their sewer lines as step one. This costs a couple of grand and two-three hours per home, to dig down outside to the house sewer line and install this one-way flapper valve. Your sewage goes out, but during a storm/flood, the sewage can’t back up into your home. Having experienced a couple of those back-ups myself, I can tell you, each time it ruins your furnished basement, you’re going to lose thousands more in ruined property, needing to move the family out temporarily for days to a week, lost time cleaning and sanitizing, having to tear out ruined furnaces and appliances, carpets, walls, and insulation to prevent deadly mold… it’s way cheaper for everyone, to get one of these installed. That’s just a first, reactive step, I know, but in the end a huge money-saving stopgap until the sewers and other drainage are handled in depth. It’s going to give local and regional plumbers and contractors a nice boost, too, but that’s money that recirculates in the area, good for the local economy. Don’t just sit on that fed money for years until every little possible thing is planned out; put some of it to use immediately to start making things right, right now.

Comment by Give Us Barabbas Monday, Nov 13, 23 @ 1:50 pm
Let them secede to Missouri.

Comment by We've never had one before Monday, Nov 13, 23 @ 2:28 pm
Maybe it’s time to consider strategic buyouts of enough homes/business to make a place for the flooding and reduce the sewage load. Climate change predictions indicate rainfall will get heavier. Places that repeatedly flood must be abandoned with their residents moved to higher ground. Fighting gravity and water flow patterns is a losing plan.

Comment by froganon Monday, Nov 13, 23 @ 2:33 pm
America’s infrastructure is dangerously antiquated.

Time for a nationwide Job Corps?

Comment by Dotnonymous x Monday, Nov 13, 23 @ 2:38 pm
Kickin’ water uphill…only gets your boots wet.

Comment by Dotnonymous x Monday, Nov 13, 23 @ 2:40 pm
I’m glad there’s an individual who will be overseeing the disbursements of these funds. A lot of money has been spent working on these problems with minimal improvement. Hopefully being sure those dollars go into the problem and aren’t diverted will help. Unfortunately for the residents of Cahokia Heights a lot of the officials and personnel from Commonfields of Cahokia moved into the new municipal government of Cahokia Heights. The same people who had a hand in making this problem are “in charge” going forward. I hope Murphy’s authority extends to the maintenance of the new system.

Comment by Mason born Monday, Nov 13, 23 @ 6:33 pm