More than 1,800 residents have reported sewer backups to the Metropolitan Sewer District since the July 17 storm that flooded basements across Hyde Park, Oakley, and Mount Lookout, MSD officials told Hamilton County commissioners on Tuesday, July 28, according to WCPO.
That's up from the 1,500 reports we covered on July 24. More than 900 of those claims have met eligibility requirements for free cleaning services through MSD's Sewer Backup Program.
MSD Director Diana Christy and Deputy Director and Chief Engineer Reese Johnson appeared before commissioners to explain the agency's response.
"This wasn't an operational issue. It is just beyond the capacity of what our sewers are designed to convey," Christy said.
10 projects fast-tracked
Johnson told commissioners MSD is fast-tracking 10 infrastructure projects at flooding hotspots across Hamilton County. He described them as smaller-scale fixes identified after the agency shifted its approach from massive, expensive overhauls to more targeted work costing millions rather than hundreds of millions.
Johnson acknowledged that even if those improvements had been in place before July 17, they would not have prevented damage from a storm 10 times larger than what the system was designed to handle. But they could have lessened the impact.
MSD has also reached out to the University of Cincinnati to study whether urbanization is contributing to increasingly intense storms in the region.
State emergency declaration still uncertain
Hamilton County Emergency Management Agency Director Nick Crossley told commissioners the county is still collecting damage assessments from impacted communities, including Cincinnati. He said he expected to submit that data to the state during the week of July 28.
A state emergency declaration from the governor would unlock additional state and federal funding for flood recovery. But the thresholds are steep: approximately $4.2 million in uninsured losses for public assistance, or at least 25 homes meeting FEMA's "major damage" standard for individual assistance.
Crossley said reaching that threshold is "pretty hard to get to" without a major infrastructure loss.
Hyde Park residents tallying thousands in damage
On Observatory Avenue in Hyde Park, where a sewer manhole was seen spewing water during the July 17 flooding, residents have been tallying their losses. Hyde Park homeowner Christina Rittenburg told Local 12 on Monday, July 27, that her basement floor heaved and she faced a $6,000 furnace and water heater repair, $2,800 in cleaning and mold remediation, and a brand-new washer-dryer destroyed.
Rittenburg and her neighbor Renee Bajorek, both decade-plus residents, told Local 12 that flash flooding has been a recurring problem in the area.
What to do if you filed a claim
Christy noted that much of MSD's investigative work happens in the street, not inside individual homes, which is why some residents may not have seen crews at their door. Homeowners who reported a backup and have not heard from MSD can call 513-352-4900 or visit msdgc.org/sbu.
Residents who disagree with MSD's decision on their claim can contact the SBU Ombudsman at the Legal Aid Society of Greater Cincinnati: 513-362-2801.
Crossley's damage assessment, expected to reach the state during the week of July 28, will determine whether the county qualifies for additional relief funds.
