Cedar Rapids Sanitary Sewer Study Could Lead To Hunt For Illegal Connections

CEDAR RAPIDS — Don’t be surprised if a beefed-up home-inspection effort is in the offing to require homeowners to disconnect sump pumps and foundation drains that are illegally connected to the city’s sanitary sewer system.As part of a pilot study, the Public Works Department has learned that about 25 percent of some 500 homes have the illegal connections in a section of northeast Cedar Rapids generally bounded by Old Marion Road NE, 32nd Street NE, 40th Street NE and First Avenue East.These connections cause problems as they direct groundwater and stormwater into the city’s sanitary sewer system instead of sending it toward the street and the city’s separate storm sewer system.