Clean-up begins, Aberdeen residents question response
By Elisa Sand, American News, Aberdeen, S.D. | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
Vansteenwyk said her apartment had sewage backup in the basement, while some of her neighbors had predominantly water.
"As soon as they knew there was water, they should have started knocking on doors," Vansteenwyk said.
Vansteenwyk and her boyfriend,
"I hope the city does something," he said.
An on-call employee responded to a high-water alert at the Riverside lift station around
Nelson said, within 30 to 45 minutes, the on-call employee determined that a water leak was causing the high water and started checking manholes for evidence of high water. Through that investigation, city employees found the break and hole at the intersection of
In a follow-up interview Tuesday, Nelson said city officials can't start knocking on doors until they know where the water main break is, and, even then, without a comprehensive understanding of the city's distribution system, it's hard to determine who the affected residents are.
"The best use of resources is to shut down the area and address the problem," said Nelson, acknowledging that it may seem to be a callous response, but it's best to focus resources where they can do the most good. "We understand people's frustrations, but we've dealt with enough of these things. We know what we've got to do to minimize the damage."
During the city council meeting, Nelson said an estimated 20-square-block area south and east of the water main break was potentially affected. As of Tuesday afternoon, 32 residents had requested paperwork to submit a damage claim to the city's liability insurance carrier.
Human Resources Director
Nelson said Sunday's water main break was unique.
"Very rarely would you have this kind of situation," he said. "Most of the sewer mains next to the water mains are not going to take the flow this one took."
City crews started picking up contaminated materials at
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