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Davenport committee approves sewage rate hike

The Davenport, Iowa City Council agreed to a new plan that might bring some relief to homeowners who have sewage back up into their homes.

A city council committee took Davenport one step closer to a new plan that might bring some relief to homeowners who have sewage back up into their homes.

The city is already being sued by several homeowners who blame insufficient infrastructure for sewage that backed up into their basements during spring flooding in 2013. Additional lawsuits were filed in the end of June.

Homeowners’ insurance doesn’t always cover damage to homes and contents in such situations.  Public works officials said the situation involved a combination of heavy amounts of storm water and the need for residents to find out if back-flow prevention valves might help.

The council's Committee of the Whole voted Tuesday, July 2, 2013 to collect an additional two dollars per quarter from residents via an additional charge on their sewer bills.  The additional money will support a fund from which residents could be paid up to $7,500 per year to help with repairs from the sewer backups.

The full council is expected to vote on the rate hike at its meeting July 10, 2013.

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