The sewage that backed into several Canton homes over the weekend was caused by a grease clog in an 8-inch sewer pipe, Department of Public Works officials said yesterday. Several sewage backups have occurred in the 2900 block of Elliott St. over the past few years, residents said.
Workers have cleared the clog, department spokesman Kurt L. Kocher said yesterday, and the city will take several steps to prevent the clogs - and resulting backups - from recurring.
Besides residences, the sewer line in the Canton neighborhood serves several restaurants and bars, and Kocher said the grease might be coming from those establishments.
"We'll have [Health Department] inspectors go to the restaurants there and make sure they're utilizing and maintaining their grease traps," Kocher said.
The city will also do quarterly monitoring of the sewer lines, he said, as well as initiate an education program, starting with the department's annual calendar, about the importance of careful disposal of waste materials.
"It has happened there before, and perhaps we should have done more monitoring," Kocher said of the backup in Canton. "But we're absolutely going to monitor it now and keep in contact with the community association."
