BATON ROUGE -- People across Baton Rouge have been experiencing problems with their toilets and showers due to the recent heavy rain.

The city said that the sewer systems were filling with rainwater, which is not supposed to happen.

The WBRZ Storm Station reported that Baton Rouge saw nearly five inches of rain on Thursday.

Because it is a closed network, the city's sewer system shouldn't normally be troubled by heavy rainfall. However, the water that poured into the city caused several problems for the region's environmental services team.

East Baton Rouge Parish received numerous complaints on Thursday, nearly six times as many as the previous day, going from 15 to 84. In addition, 28 of those calls were about backups, compared to just three on Wednesday. The calls ranged from people being unable to flush toilets to manhole covers overflowing.

There have been sewer problems in the past, and WBRZ asked multiple parish officials if this should be a worry every time there's heavy rain.

"I think it depends on several factors. One is the total volume of rain that we get. We have a system that has pump stations all over the parish, and we can move it, so depending on where it rains and in what part of the parish, that can present some problems," EBR Public Works Department Assistant Chief Administrative Officer William Daniel said.

Parish officials pointed to the fact that the 2016 floods had similar problems.

"In reality, it's something that we are aware of, and the many areas that we had problems have been addressed, but there are plenty of areas out there that probably need to be looked at," EBR Director of Transportation & Drainage Fred Raiford said.

We then asked about the state of the sewage infrastructure. Daniel says they've spent about $1.7 billion to ensure it's in good condition.

"Now you're never going to ever not prevent sewer overflows because the system is designed for a certain amount of rainfall over a certain period of time, and if you exceed that, there is the possibility of having a sewer overflow," Daniel said.

As for the rainwater getting into the sewer systems, Raiford said it could be due to sewers near canals or other spots.

"When you have sewers in backyards, you have sewers that are next to canals, and when those canals get overflowed, sometimes water may get into the system. It could be, or into, our storm drain system, that happens many times," Raiford said.

WBRZ also spoke with Terry Smith of American Plumbing, based on Quinn Drive, who had some advice for people whose toilets may not be flushing.

"The problem is when it's raining like it was, when people call saying they have a stoppage, the majority of the time, if you were not stopped up before the rain started, it's probably a city issue. The city trunk line or something. Chances are, if you were cleared before and the rain started, the issue is going to be the trunk line. Check with your neighbors, if they're stopped up, there's no point in calling a plumber because it's going to be a waste of money," Smith said.