It had been days since the last rain, but the street in front of Glenn Rode’s Rogers Park condo still held several inches of stagnant water.
A sheen of oil coated the top. Underneath, the rotting leaves and sludgy debris had started to stink.
“It smells like sewer, like the Chicago River on a bad day,” said Rode, who lives in the 6100 block of North Hoyne Avenue. “It can’t be too healthy.”
Rode said he contacted the city five times about the water, which collects around the sewer in front of his building’s entrance and remains for days after every rain.
Each time he spoke with someone, he was told the problem would be fixed. But it wasn’t.
In May, concerned that the puddle might not ever go away, he wrote to What’s Your Problem.
“When we have a heavy rain, it is hard to cross the street, as there is a minor flood,” Rode said.
The Problem Solver called the city’s Department of Water Management, which quickly dispatched a crew to unclog the sewer and drain Hoyne Pond.
“I threw a bucket of water down there, and it seemed to go right down,” Rode, a high school band director, reported after the crew left. “I think we got it done.”
Tom LaPorte, spokesman for the city’s Department of Water Management, said his office has handled 21 calls to Rode’s street since 2000. The catch basin Rode called about had been cleared once earlier this year, LaPorte said.
“We have a pretty aggressive strategy of cleaning catch basins,” he said. “We always respond to water-in-the-street complaints.”
LaPorte said that in some cases, water is supposed to remain in the street for some period after a rain. Since 2000, Water Management has put in about 200,000 Rainblockers, or devices that slow the flow of water into catch basins.
The goal is to keep water in the street longer so less of it will go into homes and flood basements.
LaPorte said residents should call the city’s non-emergency number, 311, if the water does not go down within three hours after a rain. That could indicate the catch basin is clogged.
LaPorte said that was the case on Rode’s street. In all likelihood, leaves got caught on the sewer grate, LaPorte said. He encouraged residents who see leaves piling up on a grate to clear them off with a rake.
LaPorte also said city workers will continue to monitor Rode’s street tosee if the standing water is the result of some problem in the road itself. In such cases, the city’s Department of Transportation can change the grade of the road, LaPorte said.
So far, however, the sewer cleaning seems to have worked, Rode said. Almost two weeks after the sewer was cleared, it remains dry.
“The water goes down,” Rode said. “Everything’s been working great.”
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THE PROBLEM
The sewer in front of Glenn Rode’s Rogers Park home was clogged, causing a large, smelly puddle in the street.
THE OUTCOME
City crews cleared out the sewer’s catch basin, and the water went down.
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