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Grant could be light at the end of the tunnel for Metro East residents sick of sewer flooding

Centreville, Cahokia and Alorton have requested a $22 million grant for a sewer system rebuild

CENTREVILLE, Ill — With even a brief round of rain, Centreville, Cahokia and Alorton all have major flood trouble zones. The rainy pattern St. Louis and the Metro East are settling into is nothing but a recurring nightmare for residents. 

Walter Byrd's street in Centreville was starting to show the signs of flooding and sewer backup Thursday morning when 5 On Your Side checked on the neighborhood.

"Only thing the city did was clean up some of the ditches that were holding and retaining water," Byrd told 5 On Your Side when asked about what the city has done since we met him in 2020. "They didn't clean it all the way."

In 2020, Byrd showed 5 On Your Side around his neighborhood. Any time there's significant rainfall, a few inches worth, a wake of toilet paper, feminine products and human sewage overflows onto the front lawns of people's homes.

"We had a bad rain about a couple months ago; it did the same thing. It flooded us out," Byrd said. 

He said the problem from last year is the same this year. The problem will continue for years, even if a FEMA grant is given to the three cities.

City leaders from Centreville, Cahokia and Alorton filed a $22 million Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grant through FEMA in January.

The three cities worked with Hillsboro-based Hurst-Rosche to draft the grant. 

"It will take about three years to complete all of the projects," Hurst-Rosche Senior Project Manager Jim Nold said. "We're talking about basically 13 miles of sewer work, 73 pump stations that will be worked on, eight miles of new sewer being put in, and it's an area that serves about 22,000 people."

That's three years after the grant is approved, if it is approved. 

FEMA confirmed with 5 On Your Side that all projects for the Centreville, Cahokia and Alorton grant are under review, and awards will be announced mid-summer. Nold hopes to have an answer by June.

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