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Sewer Maintenance
If you are experiencing a sewer back up, please contact the Public Works Department directly at (630) 620-5740. If it is after normal working hours (8:00 am-4:30 pm) your call will be directed to the Police Department non-emergency line. Public Works has an employee on call at all times.
The Public Works Department is responsible for maintaining 151 miles of Sanitary sewer and 123 miles of Storm sewer. For an overview of how Lombard’s sewers work, view the "Underground Lombard - The Sewers that Serve" slideshow.
Assistance Programs
The Village offers a program to assist homeowners with rodding and repairs of the sewer service that is within the Village right of way (Sewer Stub Program). When having your service line rodded due to a sewer back up, please contact the Public Works Department for a Village representative to witness the rodding. If a rodding is not witnessed and a blockage is present in the Village right-of-way, the Village will not reimburse residents for the rodding. The reimbursement amount is based upon the rate charged by the plumber under contract with the Village. Any amount that exceeds that rate will not be reimbursed by the Village. The current rate is $290 during normal business hours and $373 for evenings and weekends.
The Village also offers an Overhead Sewer Reimbursement Program to assist homeowners who experience chronic sewer backup. Through this program the Village will pay up to $5,000.00 of the cost to install an overhead sewer. The homeowner is responsible to pay for the first 25%, the Village will pay up to the next $5,000 and homeowner pays any amount over the sum total.
Looking to set up water and/or sewer billing services?
Visit our New Service page.
Fats, Oils, Grease (FOG) Program
Fats, Oils, and Greases aren’t just bad for your arteries; they’re bad for sewers too. Sewer overflows and backups can cause health hazards, damage home interiors, and threaten the environment. An increasingly common cause of overflows is sewer pipes blocked by grease. Grease gets into the sewer from household drains as well as from poorly maintained grease traps in restaurants and other businesses.
Too often grease is washed into the plumbing system, usually through the kitchen sink. Grease sticks to the insides of sewer pipes (both on your property and in the streets). Over time the grease can build up and block the entire pipe. Home garbage disposals do not keep grease out of the plumbing system. These units only shred solid material into smaller pieces and do not prevent grease from going down the drain. Commercial additives, including detergents, that claim to dissolve grease may pass grease down the line and cause problems in other areas. The results can be a sanitary sewer back up in your home.
The easiest way to solve the grease problem and help prevent overflows of raw sewage is to keep this material out of the sewer system in the first place. There are several ways to do this. Never pour grease down sink drains or into toilets. Scrape grease and food scraps from trays, plates, pots, pans, utensils, and grills and cooking surfaces into a can or the trash for disposal. Do not put grease down garbage disposals. Put baskets/strainers in sink drains to catch food scraps and other solids, and empty the drain baskets/strainers into the trash for disposal.
Restaurants, large buildings (such as apartment complexes), and other commercial establishments may have grease traps or interceptors that keep grease out of the sewer system. For a grease trap or interceptor to work correctly, it must be properly designed (sized and manufactured to handle the amount that is expected), installed (level, vented, etc.), and maintained (cleaned and serviced on a frequent basis). Solids should never be put into grease traps or interceptors. Routine, often daily, maintenance of grease traps and interceptors is needed to ensure that they properly reduce or prevent blockages. Be cautious of chemicals and additives (including soaps and detergents) that claim to dissolve grease. Some of these additives simply pass grease down pipes where it can clog the sewer lines in another area.
Residents may dispose of cooking oil and grease at no cost at the Glenbard Wastewater Authority, 21W551 Bemis Road, Glen Ellyn, Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Direct questions to (630) 790-1901.
Residential Info
A Fact Sheet for the Proper Disposal of Fats, Oil & Grease
Restaurant/Commercial Info
Quarterly reports are due on January 15th, April 15th, July 15th & October 15th for the preceding 3 months. Reports, with the hauler’s manifest attached, should be uploaded to your SwiftComply business profile. See the section below for further information. Questions regarding FOG maintenance reports should be directed to Ashley Staat at Glenbard Wastewater Authority by email astaat@gbww.org or via telephone 630-790-1901 x:142. Reports and manifests must be kept on site at your establishment for 24 months from the date of the report and available for the inspector’s review.
Grease Trap Maintenance Flow Chart
Grease Trap Maintenance Quarterly Report Form
Fats, Oil, and Grease Best Management Practices Manual - Oregon Association of Clean Water Agencies
So Many Storm Water Detention Facilities!
Did you know that there are about 350 storm water detention facilities in Lombard? These include ponds, wetlands, dry basins, a few parking lots, and underground chambers. They all provide the vital function of holding heavy rainfalls and draining slowly to help avoid surcharging (overfilling) the Village’s storm and combined sewers. The Village owns just a minority of these facilities. The Village’s ponds include Terrace View Pond, Vista Pond, Morris Pond, and the Village Municipal Complex Pond. The Lombard Park District also owns a few ponds. The Village’s wetlands and dry basins are at Main & Wilson, Grace & Central, Finley & Charles Lane, Hammerschmidt School, Parker/Kramer/Kaplan and the Surges Center on North Garfield. Privately owned storm water detention facilities are inspected by the Village’s Community Development Department every five years for safety and function.
The Best Management Practice for vegetating storm water facilities is native plants. Compared to turf grass, native plants discourage resident geese, filter more pollutants out of storm water, reduce air/noise pollution from no mowing, reduce erosion due to longer roots, and provide a livelier habitat. In especially wet basins, mowing is difficult due to mud and cattails often become prominent. Although not native, cattails are difficult to eliminate and are generally accepted as higher value than mowed grass for dissuading geese, reducing pollution, eliminating standing water that could allow mosquito breeding, and providing habitat for birds. As budget and resources allow, the Village conducts controlled burns, applies herbicide, cuts woody plants, runs aerators, and uses environmentally safe algae control chemicals to promote healthy and diverse ecosystems.
For questions and concerns regarding private facilities, please contact the Village’s Private Development Engineer at 630-620-5973 or communitydevelopment@villageoflombard.org. For Village-owned facilities, contact Public Works at 630-620-5740 or publicworks@villageoflombard.org.
Glenbard Wastewater Authority (630) 790-1901, which is jointly owned and operated by the Villages of Lombard and Glen Ellyn, provides the majority of Lombard's wastewater treatment. There are a few areas in the central and southern portions of the Village that are served by Flagg Creek Water Reclamation District, (630) 323-3299. You can view the Facility Planning Area map which depicts the District boundaries of each utility.
In accordance with NPDES Permit No. IL0022471, information regarding Combined Sewer Overflows that have occurred can be found on Glenbard Wastewater Authority's website at www.gbww.org. To report a sanitary sewer overflow, please contact Public Works at (630) 620-5740.
Visit DuPage River Salt Creek Work Group for more information on protecting our waterways.