ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — Barb Sweet
The Telegram
More residents have come forward with stories of sewer backups, hefty bills from private contractors and little sympathy from the City of St. John’s.
Three people contacted The Telegram after seeing one family’s story in Friday’s edition regarding blocked exterior sewer pipes, which the city won’t respond to under COVID-19 precautions as they would in normal times.
“It’s out in the bloody street. What am I supposed to do?” said a west-end St. John’s man, who like the man in Friday’s story, had his lateral previously replaced by the city for a $500 fee.
Still, the backups have continued due to problems with the pipes further into the street connecting to the main pipe.
He had a private company come in and assess the situation after an early April backup, as the city wouldn’t send a crew due to COVID-19 concerns, despite his cleanout pipe being located outside the house and no need for anyone to come inside.
The man had his lateral replaced in 2005, but has had several backups since 2011, each time, him says, with the problem 40-45 feet out into the street.
In 2011, the sewage flooded his basement, and he and his wife had to move out for a couple of days while the cleanup was done.
In early April, it was blocked again and the city told him that because of the COVID-19 policy implemented in late March, he would have to hire someone or buy a snake tool and put it down the outside pipe himself.
A report from the company said it couldn’t guarantee the work due to the condition of underground infrastructure.
“Through the outside cleanout, the drain was snaked and the blockage located approximately 40-45 feet out was cleared,” reads the report. “A video inspection was completed on the drain line and no issues were found with the recently installed pipe between the house and the curb, but the remaining section out to the sewer main was found to be in very poor condition,” the report reads.
“What occurred on April 3 wasn’t fun, I can tell you,” the man said, describing how the couple had to bail out their basement laundry sink and bathtub — luckily, it was just grey water.
A typical day’s routine means checking the laundry sink and the bathtub in the basement to make sure they are clear.
They even slept downstairs to make sure they could hear any backed up water.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, when they would travel, they had their family keep tabs on the situation.
The man said the city should refund property taxes for people who were affected by the COVID-19 sewer policy, or else refund the bills people pay to private companies.
Two other residents described their troubles via email, though they could not be reached for comment as of deadline.
A senior citizen said their cleanout pipe is also outside the street and no need for city workers to come in the house.
The senior said the sewer backed up on March 20 and the city could not remove the blockage.
The senior hired a private company, which cost $100. Thirteen days later, the city had implemented its COVID-19 policy and the senior had to pay another $900 to a private company and was told not to flush toilet paper.
Promises by the city to dig up and replace the problem pipe were not fulfilled when the frustrated senior wrote to The Telegram Friday.
Another couple, in a Friday morning email, said they were without water and sewer for two days.
They said they haven’t been flushing toilet paper since being instructed to not do so a few years ago.
“This is bound to happen again, and the city is just washing its hands of this. Our insurance undoubtedly is going up, too, and yet taxpayers have no support or clear information from the municipality,” the east-end couple said in the email.
“Also, not sure if other teams can provide emergency services safely during COVID, why can’t city workers do the same and take the same safety precautions to ensure that they are operating safely?”
They said they think the blockage is on city property and want to be reimbursed for attempts to clear it.
The city had suspended its sewer services to private homes due to the COVID-19 pandemic in late March. Those services in routine times include unblocking lines, as well as replacing unfunctional laterals on private homeowner property, the lateral being the underground pipe from a house to the main city sewer under the street.
A west-end man who spoke out in the Friday story said he spent more than $1,000 to bring in a private environmental services company to investigate the problem and clear his sewer line, but had some indication after pushing the point that the city might do the repair if it happens again, since the affected pipe is off his property. He had also previously replaced his lateral.
Residential homeowners pay $500 for that lateral replacement, but only if it isn’t working at all. The lateral replacements are continuing through the COVID-19 crisis.
In normal times, residents can report a sewer backup at their home and the city will send a crew to investigate and clear any blockages. Blockages can occur in the publicly owned sewer mains or inside the privately owned sewer lateral.
Under the current City of St. John’s situation, driven by the COVID-19 crisis, after receiving a report of a sewer backup, the city will send a crew to investigate to ensure the blockage is not occurring in the publicly owned sewer mains, which can cause issues for other homes.
If the publicly owned mains are functioning, the homeowner is advised so they can contact a private contractor to respond to the blockage within the individual lateral.
Since the city has suspended the clearing of sewer backups in private laterals, it has received 114 requests to inspect the public infrastructure for sewer blockages.
There is no timeline as to when this service will be reinstated, the city said Thursday.
@BarbSweetTweets