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Taylor said his finished basement are the "best rooms" in his house, but after the backup, his family can't use that space anymore.
"We have to tear everything out," said Taylor, who noted that his home is not worth anything anymore.
"I need the city to fix this problem and not with a Band-Aid," Taylor said. "Or you can buy my home. I can't sell it. I'm asking for your help, that's all."
Taylor's home is in Dawn Valley Subdivision which was developed outside the city limits in the 1960s. That was before city codes were enacted prohibiting the connection of roof and foundation stormwater drains to sanitary sewer lines.
After the 2000 flash floods resulted in backups in many homes in the subdivision, the city offered a program to install backflow prevention valves that would block sewage from backing up into home basements. Under that program, the city provided the backflow valves on the condition that they be installed by a licensed plumber, and that the homeowner and city participate jointly in the cost to eliminate stormwater infiltration from roof and area drains.
City Administrator Jim Briggs said none of the homes that had backflow valves installed under the 2000 program experienced backups in the September incident.
Council members discussed reinstating that grant program. Briggs said that would require smoke testing of sewer lines to identify those illegal sewer connections.
Taylor said that he didn't take advantage of the backflow program because it would have cost him thousands of dollars to eliminate stormwater connections and that a plumber advised against installing the device.
The current backflow valves represent an improvement from the older version and are located outside the home, it was explained.
Mayor Dick Stratman suggested that if the city adopts a grant program, it should get bids and contract with one plumber to install the backflow devices in order to get a better price. If a homeowner wants to go with a different plumber, they would pay the cost, he noted.
Infiltration and inflow of stormwater is an ongoing problem especially in older parts of town, where old, clay tile sewer lines have cracked and deteriorated over the years, Briggs noted.
The city has been following a program of lining those old sewer pipes over the last 15 to 20 years, but many more need to be fixed, it was pointed out.
The sanitary sewer system normally carries a daily flow of 2.5 million gallons. Following the Sept. 20 sudden storm, which dropped close to 5 inches of rain in less than two hours, the city had 14 million gallons of water recorded at the treatment plant, which points up the infiltration and inflow problem.
Briggs said a city program of making backflow valves available should prioritize areas based on past history of backups.
In Dawn Valley, Taylor said part of the problem was due to the large amount of water that covered sewer manholes, allowing more water into the sanitary system.
Stratman said the city needs to look at those manholes as well as do smoke testing to determine illegal connections. "We may have to look at that entire sewer line again," he said. "We don't want to rule anything out."
Councilman Guy Midkiff said the smoke testing should start in the nearby Town and Country Industrial Park which is upstream from the subdivision.
Stratman said the city's board of public works wanted the staff to look into possible grant funding for backflow valves but they don't think there is any available.
Briggs said the city can't use money from the stormwater improvement fund because that money is specifically earmarked to reduce stormwater problems and this is a sanitary sewer issue.
Councilman Jeff Mohesky said money for the program may have to come out of water and sewer department reserves.
Cutting down on infiltration and inflow is an ongoing process, Stratman said. "We've got a lot of areas where they are dumping stormwater into the system," he noted.
The council passed a motion to refer the issue to the board of public works again.
