A sewer project meant to move a Calumet Township residents off septic systems is proving no match for the extended power outages that have blanketed Northwest Indiana following the Aug. 11 derecho storm system.
Residents in and around the Woods Park neighborhood are complaining of an inability to take care of basic hygiene needs for fear of it backing up onto their property, which, in at least one case, it already has.
Pam Oliver, who resides in the Woods Park neighborhood with her husband, said the STEP system was intended to end complaints about septic overflows in the area, but it was installed in a way that makes it impossible to connect to a generator in the event of a power outage.
“I’m not saying ‘make us next NIPSCO,’ but they should make it a priority,” Oliver said.
Between 1991 and 2021, there were 324 complaints about septic systems in this area of Calumet Township, according to Post-Tribune archives, and testing in 2017 and 2018 found elevated levels of E. coli and other contaminants in Cady Marsh Ditch, which runs through the community. Officials said the findings were indicative of failing septic systems creating runoff into the surface waters.
The Calumet Township STEP system encompasses Ridge Road to the north, 53rd Avenue to the south, Colfax Street to the west and Cleveland Street to the east, according to the STEP website. In 2024, the Lake County Commissioners approved the final financing component for the $90 million project.
Because the area is below sewer grade, it uses a grinder pump to push the waste through the sewer lines, Oliver said.
But Oliver said the contractors installed the grinder pump a month ago with its own power source encased in a locked box and didn’t provide her with a key. Thus, when the power went out last Tuesday at her home on West 51st Place, there was no way to connect it to a generator.
“If you’re fortunate to be able to talk to an electrician (this week), they’ll quote you a $3,000 price tag to hook it up to your home power box, providing have enough money to afford that,” Oliver said. “But we don’t have that luxury here.”
Debbie Guzman, who leaves near 48th Place and Cleveland Street, said she now has sewage starting to cause what resembles a sinkhole at the base of a swingset which her grandkids use.
“Tuesday morning they put it in, and we were hit with storm Tuesday afternoon, so it’s never worked,” Guzman said. “I knew there was problem when I went out Wednesday, but now I’m worried all the contamination, the swingset is there … and it’s nasty.”
Guzman has lived in her house for 40 years and takes care of her husband, who has Parkinson’s and recently underwent radiation and chemotherapy treatments.
“He’s very, very weak, and not being able to use the toilet regularly is a problem,” she said.
In other communities that have installed a new grinder pump system, Oliver said they are connected to a community generator system that kicks in if a blackout occurs.
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“People are happy when they are able to flush,” Oliver said.
Oliver said she has been in contact with Lake County Commissioner Kyle Allen, D-1st, who has offered to provide three portable toilets at a nearby funeral home, but it’s not enough.
“I think the county could have surveyed homes individually,” Oliver said. “I think took they took cheap way out and it’s now costing us. We were not fully informed, and I don’t think we should have to eat $3,000.”
Allen did not respond to a request for comment.
Post-Tribune archives contributed.