A new city-commissioned study has confirmed what Waukesha homeowners on Hunter Road have been saying for months: their neighborhood's storm sewer system is inadequate and cannot handle normal heavy rainfall.
The study found that the residential storm sewer system, which should be able to handle what engineers consider a 10-year rain event, is likely to have trouble with what is considered a yearly rain event.
"It shows that we aren't crazy. Clearly, there are issues here. It is not up to standard, and the city knows that now," said Brendan Juno, who lives on Hunter Road.
Watch: Waukesha neighbors' flooding issues confirmed by city study
The August flooding was the worst incident, but Hunter Road also experienced significant flooding in July and September. Most of the residents lost their basements, and some had water in their first floors.
"The water came in over the foundation because the water line was so high, and it actually pooled in the ceiling, and it was coming in that way," Juno said.
Jerry Breske, another Hunter Road resident, described the damage to his home.
"Eight inches of water on the first level, so complete basement fill. And then 8 inches of water on the first floor," Breske said.
Kaitlyn Maruszewski experienced similar flooding.
"It broke the latch on the window, came through the window, filled up that room, and burst through that wall," Maruszewski said.
After homeowners brought their concerns to the city, officials hired a consulting firm to investigate the flooding issues. The study also uncovered problems with a second part of the subdivision on Deer Path Court, which also has an inadequate storm sewer system.
The city now faces expensive repair options. The cheapest solution costs $360,000 but would still result in continued flooding issues. The most comprehensive fix would replace the storm sewers with correctly sized systems based on today's standards, for $1.4 million. Any repairs would come out of the city's budget.
"If this neighborhood would be brought to the city by a developer today, the stormwater management program would be shut down. There is no way this would be approved," Juno said.
Residents say they are living in constant worry about weather conditions.
"It is not up to standard at all. And us residents here, we are all living in fear of rain. We don't want another flood to come," Juno said.
The study will be presented to the Board of Public Works and City Council to determine how the city will move forward with addressing the flooding issues.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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