Recent severe storms and the city's response were among the topics discussed during Monday's Mount Carmel City Council meeting.
Mayor Joe Judge opened the meeting by offering prayers for communities across the Midwest affected by the recent outbreak of severe weather, including the victims of Sunday's deadly tornado in Mount Vernon.
Judge said the recent stretch of storms has been difficult for many communities and expressed hope that the active weather pattern will soon come to an end.
Water and Sewer Commissioner Tom Meeks reported that recent heavy rainfall served as a successful test for improvements made at the city's wastewater treatment plant.
Meeks said Screw Pump Number Four has been refurbished after being removed, sandblasted, recoated and reinstalled. While crews initially experienced problems with broken belts, those issues have been corrected.
According to Meeks, the pump had not operated in 25 to 30 years. He said despite the heavy rainfall over the past several days, the treatment plant experienced no flooding, solving what had been a longstanding problem.
Garbage Commissioner Susan Zimmerman reminded residents that the city offers brush pickup following storms but asked that only twigs and tree limbs be placed in brush piles.
Zimmerman said residents should not mix in fence posts, landscape stakes or other debris because those materials can damage city equipment and jeopardize the brush pickup program.
She added that residents with larger amounts of storm debris can take brush directly to the city's brush site, located at the recycling center, which is open Fridays, Saturdays and Mondays.