Feb 14, 2020 04:06 pm | Village Administrator
FLOODING COULD CAUSE SANITARY SEWER BACKUPS -PROTECT YOUR PROPERTY
 The Village is taking proactive steps to reduce our risk of sanitary/water infrastructure failure:· purchasing back-up pump to maintain lift stations in case of power outage; · prepared back-up generator to maintain power to water system controls; · preparing sandbags to have on-hand to protect lift stations from flooding; · training staff for emergency operations.
However, even with proactive measures in place, we all must prepare for the possibility that our sanitary system may fail and the sewers may back up and flood basements.
Therefore, the Village of Bellevue Board authorized the purchase of a sewer backup insurance policy to provide financial relief to property owners impacted by back up of the sanitary mains. This policy: · pays property owners for expenses from main line sanitary backup causing property damage; · is secondary to private insurance – pays towards expenses that homeowner’s insurance might not (i.e. reimbursement of deductibles, expenses in excess of coverage limit, expenses that may be excluded from coverage by private insurance, etc.). · is paid for with a 15 cent increase to the sanitary base charge of all Village of Bellevue sanitary sewer customers. This will be added to your March bill. · Does NOT pay for backups in the private laterals (pipes that connect your home to the main sewer line), which accounts for 65% of sanitary sewer backups. · Has limited coverage per EVENT – not per property. If many claims are filed, the total amount available is distributed to all claims – therefore it may not cover all damage to all properties.
We advise all to: - Check your sanitary sewer lateral into your home for a backflow preventer. If you have one, make sure it is operating correctly. If you do not, have one installed. These help to prevent water/sewage in sanitary sewer lines from entering your basement.
- Check your homeowner’s insurance policy to determine what, if any coverage you have for flooding and sanitary backups. These are often separate or rider insurance policies and NOT included with a standard homeowner’s or renter’s insurance policy.
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