File photo
File photo
Illinois' two U.S. senators have appealed to the Environmental Protection Agency to do testing and come up with solutions to solve floodwater and sewage overflows in Centerville and parts of East St. Louis that they said endanger neighborhoods.
Democrats Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin asked the EPA to enforce environmental laws, perform water testing, and recommend solutions to the problems in the environmental agency’s Region 5.
In a report by WSIL-TV 3, the pair noted that Centerville and portions of East St. Louis are beset with storm water issues and sewage problems that have ruined homes in the area. About 5,000 residents live in the area, many of them African-Americans.
According to a report in St. Louis Public Radio, many citizens of the area are in their 60s and 70s and depend on retirement income and Social Security payments.
The sewer system in Centerville, run by a utility called “Commonfields of Cahokia,” has been neglected for years, the report said, and when there’s a heavy rain the water has nowhere to go and floods parts of town. Sewers overflow into the streets, leaving a foul smell.
Flooding and sewage have damaged homes and residents fear their drinking water is contaminated.
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