Davenport 7th Ward Alderman Barney Barnhill mopped up and yanked out wood paneling Wednesday after a foot of sewage from the weekend's heavy storms backed up into his basement.
He said sewer water flowed out of the toilet like "Old Faithful" and from the floor drain in the laundry dryer early Monday after a 24-hour pelting dumped 3.32 inches of rain on Davenport and overloaded the city's old sewer system.
Barnhill described the "slushy brown" water he saw creeping up a couple of basement steps Monday that has since receded. He pointed to the water stains on a Queen Anne-style love seat and bed frame in a basement bedroom that still had water and sewage on the floor.
Wearing a face mask and heavy boots, Barnhill said he had spent the past several days cleaning up and going over what's been lost, including artwork, books and old bottles of wine in a rack that was submerged in sewer water. A John Bloom piece was among the works of art that were damaged.
He said that with the city's old sewer system, any rainfall of more than 2 inches is like "rolling the dice" as far as in which neighborhoods sewers will back up. The last time Barnhill, who lives in the 3000 block of Grand Avenue, had a sewage backup was after the record flood of 1993, and it took him all summer and $13,000 to clean it up and renovate the basement, he said.
"I'll have to rip it all out and start over," he said of the waist-high wood paneling on the walls. "This happened 20 years ago. It's like deja vu. I never thought I'd get sewer backup again."
The scene is not unlike dozens being repeated among his constituents in the 7th Ward, including residents on Garfield Street who have had their basements flooded by sewage backup in heavy storms this spring.
The Quad-City Times tried to contact Barnhill on Monday for comment on the flooding issues in his ward and could not reach him. For the record, Barnhill said Wednesday that the weekend storm knocked out his telephone service, so he could not make or receive calls for two days.
Sewer water also damaged a power strip in his basement that knocked out service to three TV sets in his house. Wearing a T-shirt and jeans Wednesday, he said he hasn't been able to do laundry for days while waiting to see whether sewer water would fill his washing machine tub. Luckily, it didn't, so he's also keeping busy doing laundry for himself and his wife.
Even his doorbell didn't work, but he's not sure whether that is flood-related.
Outside, a neighbor's sump pump was flushing every few minutes. Barnhill said multiple homes on his block were flooded.
The alderman said parts of his ward, including the 500 block of West Garfield Street, are among the worst in the city when it comes to sewer backups. Although the ward is scheduled for repairs in 2016, Barnhill said he wants to move that up for the Garfield residents but added that he will need the support of his City Council colleagues.
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