BETHALTO, Ill. – The dread Chris Galvan felt early Tuesday morning had nothing to do with the election. He woke up to a flooded basement in his Bethalto, Illinois, home. A plumber confirmed the source of the water.

“He says my pipes are fine, my water heater’s fine, everything outside was fine. The water was coming specifically from my drain hole,” Galvan said.

Next door, Russell Walters’ teenage son provided the rude awakening.

“He woke me up screaming. I walked down and there was a foot-and-a-half of water in our basement,” he said.

Galvan and Walters are among nearly a dozen Bethalto residents who contacted us about their flooded homes. A homeowner on Georgia Street tells us children’s Christmas gifts and appliances were damaged by the flooding. Even in a newly constructed Bethalto neighborhood, we saw flood cleanup underway.

“Everything that touched water in here, I’m just going to have to toss,” Galvan said. “I can’t risk the possible bacteria and fungus and mold.”

“Family pictures. Wedding stuff that me and my wife had. All gone,” Walters said.

Walters says it’s not unusual to get a little water in his basement during a heavy rain, but nothing close to this. He says his wife contacted Bethalto Village Hall for answers. So did Galvan.

“They didn’t specify any reasoning. They just claimed it wasn’t their fault,” Walters said.

“Just kind of said, ‘Hey, we can’t control the weather,’ and that was basically it. Put in the paperwork, but we don’t know if we’re going to be able to help you out or not,” Galvan said.

FOX 2 paid a visit to Bethalto Village Hall to question officials about the flooding. Public Works Director Rod Cheatham said the community got nearly eight inches in less than 48 hours, overwhelming Bethalto’s sewer system. He said the flooding could’ve been worse.

Cheatham tells us Bethalto has spent $10.5 million since 2018, including $8.5 million dollars in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to improve pipes and install backup generators at lift stations. He admits there’s still work to be done and sympathizes with residents frustrated over their flooded homes. When it comes to this type of weather event, he says it’s hard for any sewer systems to process that much water.

For residents like Galvan and Walters, further improvements can’t happen fast enough.

“Something to go forward from this. If you don’t adapt and this keeps happening, you’re just going to keep seeing damage over time,” Galvan said.