The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1911-10-05
Water Backs Upin Many Sew
ersSaturday NigntandSun-
day, Filling Up Cellars
TRUNK SEWER STANDS STRAIN
Heaviest Rain Fall Ever Known in Ke-
nosha Fills Great Pipe to Overflow
ing and Conditions Will Not Allow
Water to Reach the Lake.

People in many parts of Kenosha had
taste of floods on Sunday and reports
to the city engineer Sunday and today
show that in hundreds of cellars of
the city the water backed up from the
sewer and while no great damage was
done in some places it is probable that
the city will have a large number of
city claims to adjust. Little damage
was caused along the route Of the
trunk sewer although the water backed
badly in the big drain and at one time
| it was filed far beyond its capacity
considering the fact that it was
damned up in several places. At the
home of John M. Kehlor at the east
end of the trunk sewer the great
volumne Of water pouring down from
the west backed up into the Kehlor
power house and garage. It stood for
depth of seven feet in the basement
of the building putting out fires i'll the
boilers and doing damage estimated at
sew eral hundred dollars. In one or two
other Easements in that immediate
neighborhood the water backed up
through the trunk sewer, but the great
est amount Of DANA e was done at the
Kehlor building.
The report was spread about the city
that the trunk sewer had broken in
several places under the great weight
of water, but this was an error. Just
east of Durkee avenue the contractors
t had put in an eight inch connection to
the sewer which was open and when
the water came down it spurted up
through this eight inch pipe to a
height of several feet. A similar CON
nection had been put in at the extreme
east end of the sewer and the same
conditions prevailed there. Added to
the force of the water brought by the
heaviest rains known in Kenosha in
ten years if not in the history Of the
city was the fact that the east end
of the sewer was blocked up by a
coffer-dam built to protect the outlet
in course of construction and when the
water came down it came practically
to a dead end. It filled UP in few
minutes the space left for the outlet
and then there was no way for the
water to get out. Early Sunday morn
ing the city officials broke away por-
ton of the Golfer dam and the food
subsidedy Many people thought that
the flood showed that the sewer was not
large enough to carry off the water of
such storm, but even with the bags
of sand piled in it in several places
the sewer would have carried all the
water if it had been possible for it
to find an outlet to the lake.
Other serious results came from the
backing up of the waters in the Eliza
beth and Prairie avenue sewers and
nearly every house on the west end of
these two streets had water in the eel
lar. In some places on Elizabeth street
where back traps had not been put in
the water was six and seven feet deep.
City Engineer Baltzer said this morn
ling: "The trouble was that the sew
ers were not large enough to take care
Of such a flow of water. The rain was
the heaviest ever known in this section.
! The water from the brass company's
plant. was not running into the Eliza
beth street sewer but the surface water
had such a volumne that the sewer
could not clear ITSELF. The water did
absolutely no damage to the trunk
sewer. The contractors were able TO
resume the work on the west end this
morning and it is probable that the
work to the east will be started This
afternoon. I"
| Any damages that may be claimed
as result of the backing up of the
water in the trunk sewer will probably
be up to the contractors as the citv
holds. liability bond from the com
pany providing for the payment of
just such damages.
| Reports from all over the county in.
dictate that the rain fall on Saturday
and Sunday was the heaviest in wears
and it is claimed by some people that
at least four inches of rain fell on
the two days.
The weather man promises further
rains during the first days of the week
and it is not improbable that there
will be further troubles with the back
! ing up of the sewers.
The members of the Mems club of
st. Matthew S church are to have a rare
| treat on the evening of Oct. 10th as
Superintendent A. J. Hutton of the Wis
consin Industrial School for Bows at