The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District Commission has approved funding eight municipal sewer projects aimed at reducing the amount of rainwater entering the local sanitary sewer systems that contribute to basement backups and sewer overflows. At right, a technician monitors how much dye gets into laterals by viewing a monitoring screen.
Crews can determine the extent of leaks in the lateral by the amount of dye.
The initial phase of the study near North 60th Street and West Bradley Road found that about 40 percent of the 128 homes inspected have leaking sewer laterals. The cost-effective option would then be implemented.