Backed Up Sewer Line Floods Home

Wednesday, May 30th 2007, 10:22 am

By: News On 6

A flood of raw sewage spewed into a house in Tulsa, and it happened while a city crew was working on the sewer line outside. Now, the homeowner wants the city to pay for the damage and wonders why the city didn't do more to prevent it. It happened while no one was home so, the sewage sat in the house for hours and soaked into everything. The News On 6â€™s Emory Bryan reports the repairs are just beginning, but the bills are piling up.

Jennifer Andres has a photo album to document the last two weeks, not that she could ever forget.

"And so when I walked in, I was hit by that smell, and I thought I know it's hot, but why does it stink so bad? And I turned and looked down the hall and saw this brown sludge on the floor,â€ said homeowner Andres.

What she politely calls sludge was really plain old sewage, backed up from the line through the neighborhood. It overflowed the toilets and came up through the other drains in the house and flooded it all. That's why everything she has, what was salvageable at least, is out in the garage.

She and her family are living at a friendâ€™s house while her house is repaired. She's upset the city didn't do more to prevent the flooding and more to fix the damage.

The city was flushing out the sewer line because of a problem with their line in the backyard next door. The sewer line had collapsed and the city repaired it and flushed out the line afterward. That's normal. It's not normal to have it back up into homes.

Jennifer Andres took pictures of the city trucks in her driveway after the flood. She's already spent $8,000 on the cleanup but figures the damage is closer to $20,000. And her insurance won't pay.

"My insurance denied the claim,â€ Andres said. â€œThey said they can't pay for any of the damage since it's result of a sewage back flow."

The city is reviewing the incident but won't make a decision on whether to pay for the damage until after a claim is filed. As for not doing more to alleviate and repair the damage, a city spokesperson says that's outside of the city's ability, so while they do provide some emergency response, it's really up to the homeowner to make all the decisions from there.

Watch the video: Woman's Home Flooded With Raw Sewage