City adds ‘guarantee’ to SD1 backflow preventer program
to help properties with history of problems when it rains
COVINGTON, Ky. – Property owners whose basement drains have backed up during heavy rain are eligible for up to $10,000 for the installation of a backup preventer valve under a joint program offered by the City of Covington and Sanitation District No. 1 of Northern Kentucky.
SD1 has offered the Backup Assistance program for years. But a new City initiative adds a supplement to the program that – by serving as a sort of “guarantee” – makes the program an even more attractive solution to beleaguered homeowners: Should a properly installed and maintained valve ever fail to prevent sewage-contaminated water from backing up into a basement, the City will pay for cleanup costs and to fix or replace a damaged hot water heater, washer, and drier.
“When these valves are properly installed and maintained, they work,” said City Project Engineer Rich Anthony. “Most of the people we’ve talked to who have had these installed say they work perfectly.”
City policies, procedures, and an agreement related to the Backup Assistance program were approved Aug. 9 by the Covington Board of Commissioners, and now it’s being implemented.
Two additional features of the new dual program are designed to further benefit Covington homeowners:
One, devices and installation typically cost $5,000 to $7,500. But if, due to extraordinary circumstances, the cost exceeds $10,000, the City will pay the difference.
And two, if the City has a record of basement backups on your property, you are deemed automatically eligible for the program.
City officials say their partnership on the Backup Assistance program is part of ongoing efforts to employ solutions big and small to address a longstanding problem of backups due to Covington’s undersized and obsolete combined sewer system. Especially in older areas of the city, the sewer system is “combined,” meaning it drains both storm water (from streets and parking lots) and sanitary sewage (from sinks, showers, and toilets). In torrential rain, the underground pipes fill and contaminated water occasionally backs up through the drains of low-lying basements in some areas.
“We can’t stop the rain,” Mayor Joe Meyer said, “but we can keep sewage from backing up into people’s basements. We encourage every eligible homeowner to take advantage of what is essentially a free solution to a longstanding problem.”
Meyer and Public Works officials emphasized that the backflow preventer valve program addresses only basements that get wet when floor drains back up. They are not a solution to basements that get wet because of foundation problems or because storm water comes in through a door or window.
To address broader flooding, the City is also working on bigger, long-term fixes related to things like the replacement of sewer laterals and, eventually, a new storm water drainage system along the Interstate 71/75 corridor. The state has agreed to mitigate ongoing flooding issues in Peaselburg with a system that would take an estimated 467 acres of watershed off the City’s combined sewer system in that older neighborhood.
In contrast, the Backup Assistance program is designed to provide instant relief to any property that installs one.
More information about the program and how it works can be found on the City’s website at BASEMENT SEWAGE BACKUP ASSISTANCE.
That page also includes a step-by-step explanation of the process from applying for the program to getting the backflow preventer installed. The webpage also includes a list of plumbers authorized to install the valve.
Owners must get pre-approval, have the valve professionally installed, and maintain it.
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