Granite City sues to recover emergency sewer repair costs

The city of Granite City has filed suit against the companies that it claims failed to properly identify where its underground sewer pipes laid, causing the pipes to be crushed and the city to expend more than $50,000 in repair costs.

The city claims the owners of 1505 Joy Avenue hired defendant St. Louis Stabalizing doing business as Perma Jack of St. Louis to provide construction work on their property. Before beginning the work, St. Louis Stabalizing hired defendant Great Plains Locating Services to locate underground waste water pipes and to mark their locations, according to the complaint filed June 17 in Madison County Circuit Court.

However, on Oct. 29, 2009, Great Plains designated an incorrect location of the waste water pipes.

As a result, when St. Louis Stabalizing performed construction work near Granite City's waste water collection system, it crushed and broke the waste water collection pipe, the suit states.

Because of the crushed pipe, Granite City incurred emergency repair costs of more than $50,000, the complaint says.

Granite City blames Great Plains for negligently failing to exercise reasonable care to locate its pipes, for failing to observe ground service portions of the plaintiff's waste water system and for failing to report to Granite City for completion or unlocatable underground facilities, among other negligent acts.

In its eight-count complaint, Granite City is seeking a judgment of more than $400,000, plus costs.

It will be represented by Jane Unsell of Unsell and Schattnik in Wood River.

Madison County Circuit Court case number: 11-L-584.