Belleville residents to discuss sewer project

Belleville residents interested in an update on the $2.6 million holding tank built off East Belle Avenue and Hecker Street for the city’s sewer department are invited to attend a meeting Wednesday.

The meeting will be at 7 p.m. at Jefferson School at 1400 N. Charles St. in Belleville.

The holding tank began operating late last summer.

Royce Carlisle, director of the city’s sewer department, said in past years, rainwater combined with sewage overflow had been pumped into ditches. Also, this combined overflow would back up into some resident’s homes.

Now that the holding tank is in operation, the overflow is stored in the tank. This overflow is mostly rainwater, Carlisle said.

“Instead of that overflow getting pumped into a ditch, we now pump it into a tank to hold it or store it until the rain event quits and then it automatically, through a valve, returns back into our sewer system and goes to the plant for full treatment,” he said.

Carlisle said the landscaping for the project is not complete. He said the city plans to plant trees between the tank and the homes off East Belle Avenue.

Charles Treser, who lives near the holding tank, said he would like the city to finish the landscaping.

Carlisle said Randy Smith Sr., the assistant director of the city sewer department, was the project manager for the storage tank and he will answer questions from residents.

The Wednesday night meeting is being organized by Lillian Schneider, a former alderwoman. For more information, call 618-207-7335.

This story was originally published April 25, 2016 at 2:14 PM with the headline "Belleville residents to discuss sewer project."