Opinion

Sewer problems in Cambridge

Wednesday, June 26, 2002

We just came from the Cambridge city council meeting (June 17). They had us sit outside the room, and they shut the door for half-an-hour while they decided they were not going to do anything to help us on this sewer backing-up into our basement.

The council had led us to think they were going to help us, but then they tell us they will not do anything for us. They tell us it is all our problem, because it isn't on the city. The problem started where the Cambridge nursing home has its line dropping in. When the city does not keep the main line cleared out, the sewer will back up about 120 feet toward the end of the line, where our line hooks in. Then, if the city puts in enough water, it comes out in our basement.

Why is it our problem? As long as the city keeps its line clean, we have no problem.

There are two other sewer lines that tie in with our line before it gets to the main line. The one to the west of us hooks in with ours and runs northwest of our house, past the west end, down the south side and clear on across our yard. When the city is out here with a fire hose running water down the manhole west of our house, and the nursing home has the main sewer line blocked, the water comes back up in our basement. On the Monday after Christmas of 2000, when we came back from Imperial, that is what we found -- the basement floor covered with sewer water, and they were still running water down the manhole. This is what created our problem.

David Houghtelling, a City of Cambridge employee, told me the city had spent enough on paying us damages to pay for fixing the problem. I said to him neither the City of Cambridge nor its insurance company has ever paid us anything. As far as I know, the only one that paid us anything was our own insurance company, Allied. That was two years ago, and now they are canceling our home insurance in November 2002.

I say they need to lower the line from here east, put the nursing home on a different line, or at least run the nursing home line down to about the highway before it drops into the main line.

We're frustrated. This house was built before the nursing home. We're very upset. To be honest, I believe there are better places to live than Cambridge, Nebraska.

I'm going to Gateway in McCook and tell them about the problem (which I have to do), and list the place for sale.