Since the Ethanol Plant in South Bend closed, residents in the Rum Village area have been having one problem after another.
First, water started seeping into their basements. Now they're dealing with mold.
Wednesday, the St. Joseph County Health Department held a meeting to give residents supplies and tips to clean the mold in their homes.
Residents were given buckets with mild detergent, rubber gloves, scrub brushes and a concrobium product.
Experts say it's better for treating mold than bleach.
"That will not only kill the mold spores, but it actually gives a protective layer to keep new mold from growing," says Melissa Papp with the St. Joseph County Health Department.
The health department says it's also important to make sure your house is well ventilated.
Make sure you're venting your appliances, like your dryer and bathroom exhaust fan, outside the house.
Residents who came to the meeting say they appreciate the free supplies and tutorial, but they're also looking for a long term solution.
"Are they going to turn the pumps back on so they pump he water out and it won't go into our basements? Even if that's feasible to do, I don't know. I don't even know if that's feasible to do," says Leona Page who has mold in her basement.
This is all in response to a problem residents started having a few months ago when the ethanol plant closed.
The city says the plant used to pump between 1 and 2 million gallons of water a day and now that it's not, the water table has risen and is causing some major water issues for folks.
The city will be meeting with residents again, February 7th. That's a couple days after the ethanol plant has its bankruptcy hearing. The city is waiting to see how that turns out before anything else can happen.
