City officials in Spencer are hoping the State of Iowa will help pay for an analysis to determine the full extent of flood damage to the city’s wastewater treatment system.
Spencer City Administrator Kevin Robinson says the Federal Emergency Management Agency will help cover the cost of repairs, but it will cost $1 million to produce the report required to qualify. “So without scanning the system and proving there’s damage, we can’t get a FEMA reimbursement,” he said.
Robinson testified before the House Local Government Committee on Tuesday afternoon and told lawmakers the city’s biggest expense moving forward will be fixing its wastewater treatment plant. “Potentially we’ll need to upgrade the plant, which would be about $30 million,” he said. “At a minimum, we’ll have about $5 million to $6 million in repairs.”
There was sewer back-up in 75% of the homes, businesses, schools and other structures in Spencer during last June’s flooding. Robinson said insurance payouts for homeowners in that predicament have been inconsistent.
“One company would say: ‘Yes, you had sewer back up. You’re covered,’” Robinson told lawmakers. “The next company would say: ‘You had sewer back up, but we believe the flood caused that back up because your wastewater treatment plant went offline in your city, therefore it was not localized to your residence and we are not paying your claim.’”
Earlier this month, Governor Reynolds called on legislators to set up new state oversight for people called “umpires” who mediate disputes over insurance claims.
