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The city of Nederland is moving to make multiple changes and improvements to the city’s drainage system after a lengthy back and forth and new faces on city council.

Nederland citizens had long been concerned and upset about the city’s wastewater issues, which have been causing sewage waste to seep into citizens’ homes during rainstorms. The issues reached a peak during a March city council meeting, where various members of the public requested immediate action from the city to address the issue.  The city has since seen the election of a new mayor and two new city council members.

As part of the newly elected city council, department reports have been requested from all of the departments in the city. As part of the reports given during the meeting, citizens were allowed to comment and ask questions on the various reports, including the public works department that handles various items around the city, including wastewater, streets, solid waste and sanitation services. 

Various members of the community requested more information and transparency in public works reports to indicate where work orders were placed and when they were responded to. 

We need to be insistent in everything we do. The public works report lacks that; it lacks information,” said Council member Jeff Ortiz. “So if that is something we can work on as a city, if it’s software that we need, something that is transparent, the community would appreciate we look into that.” 

As part of the council’s unfinished business from a previous city council meeting, engineering firm Schaumburg & Polk returned with a presentation on the cost and timeline for smoke testing the city’s sewer system. This particular study was initially tabled after citizens voiced their frustration with the initial smoke testing only being conducted in a small portion of the city, as opposed to the entire city. 

The total cost of the testing by Schaumburg & Polk will be an estimated cost of $805,900. The complete projected timeline will take approximately 35-45 weeks to complete.  Once the city receives the complete reports in 35 to 45 weeks, a recommendation will be given along with an estimated cost of any construction or repairs. A weekly progress report will be given to the city council. 

A complete breakdown of the city contract with Schaumburg & Polk can be found on the cities website, along with the city’s agenda. 

The council has also proposed creating a temporary or long-term public works or infrastructure committee to assist in the upcoming changes around the city.