Posted: June 29, 2009

West Allis — If there was one thing to take from last week's town hall meeting on the recent flooding problems, besides the obvious frustration from residents, it's this:

West Allis has a complex problem on its hands - one that causes plenty of heartaches but is short on solutions.

Hundreds of people filled the council chambers at City Hall and aired their personal flood stories to city officials, who were criticized from start to finish of the 2 1/2 -hour meeting.

It was clear that flooding problems weren't specific to any part of the city. From 56th Street to 124th Street, residents were reeling from water problems from the storms that hit on June 18 and 19.

The causes were different, too.

For some residents, sanitary sewer backups led to flooding in basements. For others, stormwater runoff created lakes in their front yards. A few didn't know how water got into their homes.

Help from flood insurance? Some people will get at least a little relief. Many others won't.

City officials take some heat

The one thing the residents had in common, however, was their frustration over the situation. For many, it wasn't their first go-round with flooding problems. Not only did many have problems last year, but also several times before then.

Many of them pointed the finger toward West Allis officials, and all 10 aldermen and most department directors were on hand to hear about it.

Residents were angry with a lack of response after the flooding hit as well as to answers to questions posed at the June 25 meeting.

"All you're telling me is, 'Eh, we can't do anything,' " one resident said.

Few stayed the duration of the meeting. The crowd of a couple hundred dwindled to about 30 at the end, with many muttering profanities as they walked out.

"I'm disgusted," one resident said simply, the anger evident in the redness of her face as she left City Hall.

No easy solutions

Mayor Dan Devine acknowledged the frustration, but told residents not to expect any quick fixes.

"There are going to be more questions than there are answers, and we (city representatives) are going to leave with homework assignments," Devine said at the beginning of the meeting, a premise he reiterated throughout the night.

City officials said they have to look at each resident's situation individually to pinpoint exactly how to prevent their properties from flooding again.

But no matter what the city does, it would be impossible for 4.7 inches of rain to fall in one night and have no residents experience any water problems, City Engineer Michael Lewis said.

"There's no easy solution to this. Otherwise, I guarantee you we would have done it," he said.