Athens resident Matt Harold brought an unpleasant problem to the City Council this week.

During the public comment portion of the council’s regular meeting Monday, Harold said the toilets in his home on Shaw Street were not flushing properly between Feb. 6 and 15.

Due to heavy rain in the Tennessee Valley during that period, rainwater entered the sanitary sewer system near his home and inundated the pipes. That slowed the flushing of his toilet.

He said it made life with a family difficult.

Harold told council members he talked to Mayor Ronnie Marks and District 1 Councilman Chris Seibert about the issue, but he said he worries about what might happen the next time that rain is unrelenting.

“I’m looking for some kind of solution before it happens again for a week,” he said.

Seibert said he talked to Jimmy Junkin, director of Water Services at Athens Utilities, about the matter and was told what happened at Harold’s house was basically a perfect storm of heavy rain, a low-lying section of town and a problem with the main trunk in the area.

Marks said the area was one of the first sections of pipe that city workers ran a diagnostic camera through following the rain. They determined it was the city’s problem, not Harold’s pipes.

“Hopefully, if it stops raining, it will be resolved, and that will be some of the first line we want to replace,” Marks said. “We are aware and will do what we can as quickly as we can.”

When Harold asked whether “as quickly as we can” meant years, Marks said, “No, I’m not talking years.”