WEST JORDAN — After more than 20 years of unknowingly dumping raw sewage into the Jordan River, several residents will likely soon be receiving the city's help in fixing the problem.

The City Council on Tuesday voted 6-1 in favor of directing city staff to draft an ordinance that would create a no-fault fund for the city to reimburse residents who had to have their sewer lines dug up and reconnected to the right underground main. The fund will also cover any future problems.

The problem started in the late 1970s and early '80s when sewage lines from five or six homes around 1500 West and 8600 South were connected to an underground main meant to drain off excess groundwater rather than the sewage main.

The mistakes were apparently made by two different developers, both of whom are believed to be out of business now. Because of that, the city should step up and take responsibility, the residents say.

And while city attorney Roger Cutler said the city has no legal obligation, Mayor Dave Newton believes it has a moral one.

"If the system backs up and it causes problems for people, we need to make them whole," he said.

The fund, as supported by the council Tuesday, would cap individual claims at $10,000 and would put a $100,000 cap on total payouts for any one incident. It only covers claims filed in 2005 and any future claims, meaning old claims that were denied for other problems will not be revisited.

The city currently only pays for problems when the city can be shown to have been at fault. Because the sewage lines were apparently connected by private builders, the city is not legally at fault — even if city inspections, if they were carried out at all, failed to catch the problem.

Councilman Rob Bennett, the sole "no" vote Tuesday, said he was opposed not because he didn't want to help the affected residents but because he didn't want to set a precedent of the city taking on the role of an insurance company.

The fund would be secondary to any homeowners' insurance, so if a resident's insurance would cover the damage, the city will not pay.

The fund will be covered by a sewage rate increase. The amount of the increase will be determined by city staff, who are expected to study how much money the fund will need and then present a draft to the council to be voted on in the next few weeks.

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