The city of Columbus has begun work on its $106.5 million Blueprint project and it’s starting with the process of installing 1,000 sump pumps in North Linden. But the city won’t start long-promised projects – rain gardens – until next year.
The city’s $106.5 million budget includes $62 million for work to direct roof runoff away from sewers and to line lateral sewer lines connecting homes to the city’s sanitary-sewer system with rubber. In older houses, many of those lines are made of clay.
In addition to those amounts, $18 million will go toward green infrastructure, including rain gardens designed to collect stormwater runoff to help prevent sewage overflows into streams and rivers, and $8 million will pay for the sump pumps. The rest will be used to line the main sewer lines and for design work.
Earlier this year, the city began earlier to install 278 sump pumps in the homes of residents who applied for them. The lateral lining won’t begin until 2022.
While many residents are in support of the repairs and addition of the rain gardens, there is still a significant number who oppose the green changes and updates, complaining they don’t want a rain garden in front of their homes and are worried the gardens won’t be maintained by the city. Others are concerned about losing parking spaces.
There is some positive excitement coming from residents. With the installation of sump pumps and lining laterals, sewer backups will hopefully be eliminated throughout many homes who are currently experiencing flooding when it rains.
They just have to wait until 2022 for their sewer pipes to be lined.
