Sewer blockage caused NewBo, Czech Village flooding last month

A blockage in a pipe caused sewers to back up into basements in NewBo and Czech Village neighborhoods last month, according to KCRG reporting on statements from Cedar Rapids Public Works staff.

Crews removed the blockage after the June flooding, the city said. Temporary pipes were installed around several streets to manage excess sewer water during the event, according to the city.

Pat Keating of Cedar Rapids Public Works spoke at the Infrastructure Committee meeting on July 21. “We’re still chasing and still looking through the system to make sure that, and we won’t know we had some heavy rains [Monday] and didn’t have any issues that we’re aware of, we were monitoring quite a bit [Monday],” Keating said.

The city first reported water in basements in the two neighborhoods on June 12 and installed temporary pumps while crews investigated a possible downstream pipe blockage or damage. Collection system levels returned to near normal that same day.

Officials continue to monitor the system. It has not been confirmed whether heavy rain contributed to the flooding alongside the blockage.

The neighborhoods are in Cedar Rapids and Linn County, where residents and businesses dealt with the backups.