Clogged Sewer Line at Manageable Level, Work to Diagnose Cause Continues

After working through the night, late into Friday morning, Bayside village officials say they finally have a blocked West Brown Deer Road sewer line back to a manageable level.

Since 7 a.m. on Thursday, Bayside crews and contractors have worked to remove excess water from the line, pumping some 2 million gallons of water out of 600 foot stretch of sanitary sewer pipe, Village Manager Andy Pederson said.

Through the village's efforts, Pederson said it was able to avoid impacting 400 to 500 homes with basement backups. Bayside Garden Center wasn't so lucky, experiencing a backup on its property. Pederson said he wasn't privy to details on possible damage to the Brown Deer Road business. 

With that said, Pederson said the village is still working to diagnose the cause of the backup.

"It’s one of those things, I hope we can find something out, but when you are dealing with something that 38 feet down, it's a bit difficult," he said. 

Crews will continue to monitor the sewer line through the weekend, and get back to work next week. At that time, Pederson say crews might attempt to resolve the problem by jetting water through the pipe or learn more about what might be blocking it by televising the line with cameras. 

"We don’t believe it’s a collapsed pipe, based on the way the water is going through the pipe," he said. "We're still in that investigative phrase."

Thursday afternoon, Brown Deer Road, from North Regent Road to North Rexleigh Road, was closed as crews worked to pump the water. The stretch of road was re-opened 6 a.m. Friday.