Improving Stormwater Drainage / Minimizing Basement Backups

In response to the June 2008 flood, the City wants to inform residents on how they can improve
drainage around their property and protect their property from basement backups. This will be
the first in a series of articles that addresses this topic.

The Flood of June 2008 heightened the awareness of the importance of the sewer systems in the
City of Brookfield. This flood was caused by a short but very intense rain event that resulted in a
declaration of a state of emergency by the governors office, resulting in eligibility for FEMA
funding disaster relief. This indicates the severity of the event that hit Brookfield that weekend.

It should be understood that no municipal sewer system is designed to handle the amount of rain
that occurred during the storm on June 7th and 8th. However, some of the impacts may be
potentially lessened and the following information may assist your understanding of what actions
can be taken to improve drainage around your property and minimize basement backups.

There are two sewer systems in Brookfield, storm sewer and sanitary sewers.
Storm sewers convey rainwater from streets, rooftops, parking lots and sump pumps.
Sanitary sewers convey wastewater from homes including sinks, toilets, showers, tubs,
laundry facilities, dishwashers and floor drains. They also convey wastewater from
commercial and industrial facilities. Finally, they do convey small amounts of rain water
that enters through leaks or illegal connections to the system.

If storm sewers convey rainwater, why do sanitary sewers backup? Sanitary sewers back up for
several reasons:
1. the private sewer lateral is obstructed by roots, grease or other blockage (e.g. diapers) and
water can not leave the house,
2. the public sewer is clogged or collapsed affecting the area upstream, or
3. rainwater has entered into the sewer system through leaks or illegal connections to the
system exceeding the capacity of the pipe network.

How does rain water enter the sewer system? Some rainwater enters the sewers through cracks
in pipes or manholes. However the City has taken deliberate steps to inspect all manholes and
sanitary sewers and have repaired the leaks systematically. Other sources of rain water into the
sanitary sewer system include illegally connected sump pumps, failed sump pumps, leaking
private laterals from the house to the sewer in the street, or other sources of water running over
the basement floor (cracks in walls, leaking window wells) and entering the floor drain.

In cases where rain water enters someones basement via cracks in walls, failed sump pump or
entering through a window well, if this water drains into the floor drain, it enters the sanitary
sewer since that is where floor drains go. This excess water quickly fills up the sanitary sewer
and can back up into other homes. It only takes a few failed sump pumps to overload the
average sewer line resulting in basement backups.

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What can be done to improve stormwater drainage and prevent basement backups? Dont wait.
There are many things you can do even now. Some actions you can take to improve drainage
around your property and protect your property from basement backups include:
properly grade yard away from house,
mudjack or replace settled patios, driveways or sidewalks,
raise window wells and install clay fill to promote drainage away from the foundation,
repair leaking and cracked basement walls and cracks in basement floors,
regularly clean out gutters and downspouts,
make sure downspout extenders are attached to downspouts,
discharge downspouts overland and not to storm sewer or ditch,
extend downspouts and sump pump discharge away from the house and away from
neighboring houses,
check sump pump operation regularly,
buy a large enough sump pump to handle flows and properly size fuses or circuit breakers
for the pump,
discharge sump pump above grade to avoid pumping against the pressure of a storm
sewer or ditch that is full,
consider installing a battery backup or generator for sump pump in case of power failure,
and
consider installing an additional sump pump, increase capacity of existing sump pump, or
have on hand a spare sump pump with hose to discharge outside during an emergency
do not install mulch or floatable materials (firewood) in known drainageways as it can
plug inlets and culvert pipes,
do not install structures or landscaping in stormwater drainage easements, and
cooperate with WE Energies to trim branches or remove trees near power lines. This
improves reliability of power by reducing the potential for downed power lines caused by
downed trees. Power is critical to keep sump pumps operational.

Ways to prevent basement backups include:

do not allow stormwater drainage or sump crock overflows to go down floor drain,
do not bail sump crock into laundry tub or toilets or shower drains,
consider installation of a backwater valve on your sewer lateral, and
consider installation of hung plumbing in the basement.

The attached sketch shows how water enters the sewer system during a heavy rain and what
things can be done to reduce that water from entering the system.

What is the City doing to improve stormwater drainage and minimize basement backups?
continue moratoriums on ditch enclosures which reduce capacity of ditches,
re-ditch areas as necessary to improve hydraulic capacity of filled-in ditches,
continue implementation of storm sewer improvements based on latest studies,
work with neighboring municipalities to clear drainageways that drain Brookfield,
continue to clean out storm sewers and inlets as needed,
continue identification and repair of leaking manholes and sanitary sewers, and
upgrade computer control system to operate wastewater lift stations remotely.

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