How many times have you heard complaints about taxpayer money going down the drain? Hundreds of sewer drain inlets along West Center Road from 120th to 144th streets are falling apart less than 20 years after being installed.

Drivers on some Omaha streets might wonder if their tax money has gone down the drain. Dozens of storm sewer inlets are crumbling. "I wonder why they are falling apart," says Matt Hillebrandt. "Cement already cracking on them. I'm not sure when they redid this, but you'd think they'd last longer."

Hammered by salt and snowplows, many inlets installed in the 1990s haven't stood the test of time and temperature changes so the city changed the design.

"Galvanize channel face, which protects front face of the concrete from weather conditions,” says Omaha construction manager Tim O'Bryan.

With these new inlets comes added protection for taxpayers. Each one has a five-year warranty. The newer sewer tops run about $2,000 each, more expensive than the old design. "The longer life is well worth the (extra) $2-300," says O'Bryan.

By the end of this construction season, 130 crumbling sewer tops will be replaced. Homeowners and business owners along the streets say the old inlets needed to be replaced.

"You go by a house development, that really nice house around it and go down the street, it's broken down,” says businessman Jerry Norton. “That doesn't look good for the neighborhood."

Replacing the inlet eyesores will require a yearly flow of tax money, but the new design should drain less funds in the long run. A contract went out for bid last week to install 23 new storm sewer tops.