Residents Consider Legal Action Over Flooded Basements

Frustration is boiling over in Marinette tonight after several residents whose basements were flooded with sewage water in April are still waiting to see who's going to foot the cleanup bill.

The backup happened during road construction on Hall Avenue last spring. The contractor called a clean-up company after the problem was discovered, but says the city should cover the cost because the city flushed the clogged pipe that caused the backup. But the city says the contractor caused the backup when it busted up the concrete.

Meanwhile, residents say they're getting nowhere. For the past two months Tom Morois has made one request, "I would like to see our basement put back together, us reimbursed for what we lost."

But he's still waiting, with the belongings from his basement still sitting in his garage. Morois hasn't paid a dime of the nearly $8,000 dollar cleaning bill he was stuck with after that nasty sewage backup in his basement. He said he was assured by both the contractor and mayor the bill would be taken care of.

"I don't like to be lied to, I don't think we deserve to be lied to. We were promised things that never came true and it's just downright lies," Morois.

It's the same story for his neighbors. "They said keep track of your time and we'll make it good, well we kept track of our time and nothings been done about making it good," says John Perket, whose basement was also flooded.

They too say they haven't received a dime, but they continue to get bills. "Even if anybody would come forward and give you some word. Somebody's gotta be at fault, it certainly wasn't these four homes," says Fay Doberstein.

Tired of the run around, Fay Doberstein went to a city council meeting, but when the representative for the cleaning company brought up the issue, Doberstein says, "He was more or less told to sit down and shut up."

It's part of the reason they're now considering legal action against the city. "I'll push it as far as I have to," says Morois.

In October, the mayor told Action Two News, "It's going to be solved, there's no getting around it. I'm very upset that there has been nothing done with all the insurance companies."

When Action Two news called the mayor, but he's out of office. Meanwhile, the cleaning company says it plans to sue the contractor for the thousands of dollars it is owed.

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Sewage Haunts North Wagga Home

MOVING back into North Wagga has been far easier for some residents than others.

Residents in Gardiner Street returned to water damage and a horrible smell thanks to sewage, while people just streets away found their homes untouched by the floods.

Thrown into chaos by the evacuation, residents were given the OK to return from the State Emergency Service (SES) on Friday afternoon and many are now awaiting the outcome of insurance claims.

Ricky and Marree Bruce were among the worst-affected residents, living in Gardiner Street. They returned home to find their home smelled so bad they could not stay.

"It's unlivable ... the sewage didn't go through the home but under it and the smell comes through," Marree Bruce said.

"The real estate were really good and they let us out of our lease and found us somewhere else to live ... we copped it from the river and then again from the water that flowed down from Gumly.

"It has been a tough time for our family, my sister's house at The Rock was flooded in October."

Mrs Bruce said one positive from the ordeal was they were able to rescue the family animals, which included a number of horses, sheep, goats and dogs.

While Mrs Bruce cleans up, Cath Quilter and her family have been able to move straight back into their home, which they bought just three weeks ago.

"The SES have been fabulous, they gave us ample time to pack but it took us four days to move in and half a day to evacuate so it was certainly chaotic," she said.

"It was a pretty anxious time, sitting and waiting for the river to rise but we were fortunate not to have any water through the house and we sandbagged our drains to keep the sewage out."

Mrs Quilter said she had missed some of her children's Christmas events due to the floods but was glad to find everything in working order on her return.

Residents are also advised to be aware of mosquitoes and the danger they pose through the transmission of diseases, especially with stagnant water and sewage across North Wagga.

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Contractors Sued Over Sewage Spill

Auckland tourist attraction Kelly Tarlton's Underwater World is suing contractors for almost $3 million for damage caused by a sewage spill resulting from a power cut in June 2006.

The attraction occupies a number of old sewage holding tanks on Auckland's Tamaki Drive, but one is still used as an overflow tank for the sewage system and also houses ducting, providing ventilation to Kelly Tarlton's.

Modifications had been made to the ducting the previous year, including installing new PVC piping.

When the pump station failed at nearby Orakei Domain, wastewater flowed into the tank.

Kelly Tarlton's owners at the time, Tourism Holdings Ltd, said that the pipe failed in the power cut and broke free from its connections as the waste water came in.

"Sewage and seawater flowed into Kelly Tarlton's causing extensive property damage and business interruption losses," Associate Judge Roger Bell said in a preliminary ruling in the High Court at Auckland.

"It says these losses amount to $2,927,726 and it claims that sum in damages in this proceeding."

Tourism Holdings are suing mechanical engineers APG Thompson Ltd, pipe installers Air Action Installation Ltd, and Plasfab Installations 1977 Ltd, who supplied the piping.

The duct modifications were carried out towards the end of a two-stage redevelopment of Kelly Tarlton's.

Initially, the lead consultants, Thorburn Consultants (NZ) Ltd, whose director Craig Thorburn, a marine biologist, once worked as a curator at Kelly Tarlton's, was also being sued but that case was dropped.

However, Thorburn Consultants is being cross-sued by Air Action Installation.

Tourism Holdings said the ducting was deficient in various ways.

It claimed that "the new ventilation pipe and supports were not designed adequately to withstand the lateral and vertical forces to which the pipe would have been subjected in the chamber when water levels were high or in surging water conditions, and to withstand damage from floating debris."

Air Action Installation claimed Thorburn Consultants knew the chamber was a sewage overflow tank, but never told it.

Air Action Installation identified a problem with ventilation in the toilet blocks during an inspection in January 2005.

Both companies and a number of other parties met on site to discuss the problem.

Thorburn Consultants asked Kelly Tarlton's if it wanted it to project manage the ventilation issue, but Kelly Tarlton's declined, saying it would deal directly with the mechanical engineer and Air Action Installation.

Associate Judge Bell said Thorburn Consultants was on "safe ground" after Kelly Tarlton's told it that it would not be involved.

However, the judge said the question was whether Thorburn Consultants was under a duty to tell Air Action Installation that the chamber was still used as a sewage overflow tank.

There were arguments both ways.

He said that Thorburn Consultants did not say in its affidavit that it told Air Action that the tank was used for sewage overflow and that the ventilation pipe could be submerged in effluent.

Thornburn Consultants maintained that Air Action Installation would still have adopted the same design, even if it had known that the tank was to be used as a sewage overflow chamber.

The judge said he could not say conclusively at this stage that Thorburn Consultants had no liability.

He dismissed Thorburn Consultants' application for summary judgment against Air Action Installation.

The case is due back in court in February.

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Homeowners Pay The Price For Sewer Backups

Sue Jensen was planning for a fun and relaxing Fourth of July holiday.

But when she walked down the basement steps to her laundry room at 7 that holiday morning, she stepped into three inches of water.

"I was thinking it was rainwater," she said initially. "But there wasn't any rain."

Her fast-acting plumber found otherwise.

"He told me to 'Get out. It's sewage!' Jensen said.

So started Jensen's two-year ongoing battle with the city for what turned out to be two sewer backups the same holiday weekend in 2008.

The initial backup occurred and affected Jensen and several other homes around Grand Island Christian School at Five Points, said Grand Island Public Works Director Steve Riehle.

City crews came out immediately on July 4 and installed a temporary line above ground, but the line was undersized and resulted in a second sewer backup in Jensen's home on July 6 -- two days after the first backup and after she had finished sanitizing the basement.

Jensen lost two days of work cleaning the damage, received a $700 plumbing bill, incurred $140 in cleaning expenses and a cut on her leg became infected from the exposure. Fixing the damages in the basement, including tearing out cupboards that have molded, will cost another $1,100.

In the grand scheme of things, it's not a lot of money, Jensen said, but neither her insurance nor the city's will pay for the damages. 

Her own homeowner's policy lacked a collapsed sewer clause. She has since added it for a cost of $8 a year.

In her basement, she has added a sewer line squeeze plug for $5 and then a backwater valve for $18 to prevent such backups into her home in the future.

What surprised Jensen was that the city's insurance didn't cover the damages for city sewage backing into her home -- a problem she had no way to control.

Riehle said the city has to have been negligent for a payout to occur. The city's insurance carrier, Employers Mutual Casualty Company (EMC), makes the determination.

"Our investigation reveals that a manhole collapsed due to the effect of a rise in the groundwater level from spring rains," said EMC Claims Adjuster Warren Elmore. "Our insured has a manhole inspection plan that it follows.

"The collapse of this manhole was an unfortunate event," Elmore stated. "However, it could not be anticipated. None-the-less our insured responded reasonably to the event."

The same EMC letter was sent to two other homeowners besides Jensen.

Jensen has responded to Elmore and wrote a letter to Mayor Margaret Hornady.

The mayor responded with a five-sentence letter informing her the city's insurance carrier found "no negligence" on the city's part.

City Finance Director Mary Lou Brown said the city has received six sewer backup claims in the last year. All have been denied.

With the city's growing concern for more collapsed sewer lines detailed in a Tuesday night city council study session, Grand Island homeowners are being urged to be prepared.

"Check your homeowner's policy," Riehle said.

"Every homeowner should be aware of the potential problem," Jensen said. 

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Sewage Causing Problems For Las Vegas Man

Summerlin, NV (KTNV) - Most of us don't think twice about flushing the toilet, unless all that sewage backs up in and around your home. That's exactly what happened to a Las Vegas man who says the disgusting problem isn't going away and no one will help him.

So he asked Action News to investigate.

"Human waste [and] human excrement came out my clean out ran across the front of my house, the sidewalk in front of my house," said Richard Dorsey.

Sewage seeping from inside Richard's Summerlin home was a problem that required an instant response. As soon as he saw it, he called a plumber.

"We dug down found the open main, the open waste line [with] no connection to the sewer," said Richard.

The problem isn't only with the toilet. When Richard starts the washer and unplugs a sink all that water rushes out of the pipe and seeps into the ground in his front lawn.

The water wasn't only outside.

"I was walking to the restroom in my bare feet and i started just squish squish squish and the water was overflowing out of my toilet," said Richard.

Richard says that overflow ruined some of the carpet in his house. He paid a company more than $3,000 to dry everything. The plumbing company told Richard the sewer line was never connected at the street and that's where things get complicated.

"The plumber doesn't want to go into that area on his own and his liability. [The] sewer company's telling me it isn't their situation," said Richard.

The plumber didn't want to dig under the city's street. Richard was frustrated that no one was taking responsibility.So he emailed Action News and we called the City's sanitation department. They disagreed with the plumber.

The City says they believe this line was connected, but at some point came apart. They did offer to fix it for free, but say they won't assume legal responsibility for it and help Richard pay for the damage to other parts of his home.

So the hole is still here and the problem isn't fixed because Richard worries that covering it up will hurt his fight.

"My home has taken a beating,"said Richard.

Even if the city reconnects the pipe, Richard says he wants to know who's going to help him with the costs of figuring out what the problem was in the first place. He hopes no one else has to deal with the same type of runaround.

"I may not be the only person in this valley that this has happened to," said Richard.

Richard says his property management group told him the line from the house across the lawn is the homeowner's responsibility. We did call them, but they did not want to comment.

Richard is now looking for a lawyer to help with the billing situation. We'll keep you posted on the outcome.

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Testimony Heard In Sewer Suit

Shawnee County District Judge Franklin R. Theis heard testimony Wednesday in the bench trial of a lawsuit being pursued against the city of Topeka by a woman whose home became infiltrated with sewage on May 7, 2007, a day that saw considerable flooding here.

Theis made plans to hear closing comments beginning at 1:30 p.m. Thursday in the suit that attorneys for Heather Reynolds filed against the city in April 2009 seeking damages in excess of $75,000.

Testimony began Wednesday morning in the trial regarding the suit, which contends Reynolds' home at 3123 S.W. Munson Ave. became infiltrated with sewage because of the city's failure "to properly plan, inspect, maintain, repair or upgrade as necessary, the sanitary sewer system" serving that home.

Her petition contends Reynolds suffered "significant real and personal property damage, discomfort, annoyance, inconvenience, endangerment of health, loss of use of her real and personal property, loss of peace of mind associated with the interference and enjoyment of her property, diminution in the value of her real property, loss of income, and had her home stigmatized."

Deputy public works director Mike McGee acknowledged in June 2007 that sanitary sewers backed up into about 100 homes in Topeka on May 7, 2007, after 9 to 11 inches of rain fell over 36 hours on already saturated soil. McGee said the rising groundwater submerged some sanitary sewer mains and high volumes of water got into the sanitary sewer system for reasons that included cracks in the pipes.

McGee said the city's sanitary sewer system wasn't built to withstand rainfall of the magnitude that caused the May 7 backups because taxpayers in Topeka couldn't afford to pay for a system that had that capability, and he didn't know of any cities that did.

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Many Blame MMSD For Sewage Backup And Damage

WITI-TV, MILWAUKEE —

The summer floods are long gone, but a FOX6 investigation finds damage claims are still trickling in to the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District. Hundreds of plaintiffs are suing MMSD for millions of dollars in property damage. Some are even trying to collect for emotional distress.

As if he hadn't been dumped on enough, Freeman Semons drove home from his brother's funeral on July 22nd to find his basement filling up with sewage. Semons said, "I just sit on the stairs, and just watch the water rise, and rise, and rise. I saw all my furniture just floating around."

Every trip down the steps is as a harsh reminder of the rec room that used to be his personal refuge. Semons would like to get some of it back. So he filed a damage claim for $29,000 with the government agency he blames for the mess. Semons says, "The deep tunnel project was supposed to take care of all of this."

Noel Latus' auto repair shop near Mitchell Airport was closed for three months after it flooded in 2008. Latus says, "When we got in, the shop was destroyed. The racks had fallen over. All the filters were destroyed...That just about took my knees out from under me. I couldn't believe it. I got sick to my stomach."

The creek that runs alongside his business is still at flood stage, and Latus blames MMSD for failing to clear out sediment that's choking off the creek's natural drainage. Latus says, "They're the ones who are responsible, and they're the ones who aren't doing anything about it."

Latus is seeking $165,000 to compensate for what he lost in two floods.

These are just two of the 300 claims against MMSD reviewed by FOX6 Investigators. The complaints ranged from $1,000 to $300,000 for damage caused by a sewage backup in a home worth only $120,000. A handful of homeowners are seeking payment for "Emotional, psychological, and physical duress."

MMSD Attorney Lauri Rollings says, "Experiencing a basement backup definitely. No questions asked does cause people to experience emotional distress, but the key question really is was the district liable for that basement backup?"

Rollings and her team are fighting more than $16 million in claims.

Most of them are now incorporated into two major lawsuits, both stemming from the storms in 2008. One suit is focused on the mechanical failure of an underground maintenance gate in Brown Deer.

The other lawsuit, involving more than 200 plaintiffs, blames MMSD for closing access to the deep tunnel and "needlessly causing sewage to back up".

Rollings blames mother nature, and says MMSD isn't to blame.

If there were deficiencies in the sewer system, Rollings believes they were further up the pipeline. She says, "The water was coming so quickly that it bottle necked in areas of local municipal systems before it even got to MMSD's system."

MMSD provided FOX6 with a computer animation of what they say is another major factor. Thousands of older homes in the area have foundation drains that are connected to the sanitary sewer lateral. A big storm adds a large amount of rainwater to a system designed for human waste. Rollings says, "They can greatly increase the amount of water that's flowing into the sanitary, and MMSD systems, which are primarily designed to deal with waste water."

Semons is still convinced MMSD is to blame, because of something that happened hours after his basement filled up with sewage. It just went away, and Semons says it was like someone flipped a switch.

Rollings says no one flipped a switch or opened a gate. She tells FOX6 that the system just caught up with itself.

No matter who wins in court, taxpayers will foot the bill. Since 2008, MMSD's legal budget has doubled from $1.2 million to $2.4 million a year.

People like Latus just want someone to take responsibility. He says, "Everybody stands in a circle, and they point a finger at each other and nothing ever gets done."

The June 2008 storms led to more than 300 damage claims, and multiple lawsuits. The July 2010 storms only generated 27 claims and no lawsuits.

While there is still time for new claims to come in, MMSD says it appears there will be far less litigation from this year's basement backups than the ones two years ago.

Is MMSD doing anything to try and prevent another round of sewage overflows? They say they are, but it has nothing to do with the deep tunnel.

The district released details of next year's proposed budget. It includes eight million to help homeowners fix the sewer pipes on their own property to keep excess rainwater out of the system.

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Floodwater With Sewage Contamination Can Be Very Damaging

Three young men found themselves without a home early on Sunday morning and lost just about everything they owned in the process. Their rented house in Blenheim was gutted by a fire that the police believe may be arson.

Fortunately two of the tenants were away and the only one at home got out safely with his girlfriend. They were terrified but alive and their landlord handed back their $1200 bond. Good fortune was on their side.

Sadly, though, the trio of Benji, Anton and Kayden had not yet got round to organising contents insurance to cover their gear in the house. After moving in two weeks earlier, it was still on their "to do" list.

That aspect of the story this week has prompted some lively online discussion, in which they have been judged quite harshly for not organising cover before they moved in. And that is a lesson they will carry with them for the rest of their lives.

But they are not alone in failing to insure. Insurance Council chief executive Chris Ryan estimates 40 per cent of homeowners don't have contents insurance and says it is impossible to guess how much higher that percentage is for renters.

He delivers another caution by saying many of the people who do have contents insurance will have underestimated the value of what they have to replace. His suggested minimum replacement insurance for a three-bedroom home is $80,000, although renters might be able to get away with a little less.

Keep in mind that floodwater contaminated with sewage can be just as damaging as a house fire, he says.

Without giving the insurance industry a free plug, it is good sense to insure gear against loss and damage.

Renters also need to be aware they could be liable for damage caused to a property by their neglect.

One online post sums up the situation: "I can't afford my insurance – but I can't afford not to have it, either. So I pay my premiums to cover for that one time when I may need it."

It may be time for all of us to check a website policy calculator and take some out or increase the value of the existing policy.


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Family Struggles To Find Aid After Home Is Flooded By Sewage

BIANCA Wellstead held back tears when she was told the Clarion Mackay Marina Hotel would give her family and visiting friends a room for the night after their house was inundated by sewage.

Yesterday, as she thanked her benefactors, her mood was as sunny as Mackay's fine weather after weeks of rain.

“The Clarion hotel put us up in a spa room and they put the kids in an interconnecting room. They gave us a meal voucher for dinner and breakfast,” she said.

“Not only did they put up myself, my husband and our three children, but also our visitors.

“The night was just fantastic. I had to duck back home ... to grab a few things and when I walked into our house I realised just how horrible it was – it was good not to have to smell the sewage.”

The Daily Mercury reported on Saturday that heavy rain had caused problems with Mackay's sewerage system, which resulted in the Wellstead's Grendon Street home and backyard being flooded with an estimated 60,000 litres of sewage. It spilt into their two-bedroom home's only toilet, shower and laundry.

When the Clarion heard about the family's situation they decided to lend a helping hand on Friday night.

“It was so lovely what the Clarion hotel did for us – we have just been overwhelmed but very grateful for the support the Mackay community has given us,” Ms Wellstead said.

“It has been unbelievable how many people have offered to help us. We are very thankful.

“When I rang my insurance company they said we were not covered for sewage damage so I emailed all the Mackay Regional Council councillors, our State member and Federal member. George Christensen's office was very helpful and they rang the insurance company and sorted it all out for us. So we now have temporary accommodation.

“We were offered a fully furnished house at Bucasia to rent, which is great because all we have to do is pick up our personal belongings and the pets and move straight in.”

Ms Wellstead said she was not sure how long it would be before they could move back into their home.

“Council is working hard to find a solution but until then we cannot, and I will not go back until it's sorted out,” she said.

Scattered storms yesterday dumped falls of up to about 25mm but the region was mainly fine.

The Bureau of Meteorology forecast for the next three days is for possible scattered showers and thunderstorms, mainly in the afternoon.

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Family Blames Mobile Home Park Management For Sewage Damage

FEDERAL HEIGHTS, Colo. -- The Christmas Grinch has arrived in the form of raw sewage for a family in Federal Heights.

A major backup spewed black sewage throughout the mobile home of Courtney Scott and Jimmy Walter. One of the few things not damaged by the sewage was their Christmas tree.

"It was disgusting. It was pure black and brown water just flowing up out of there, six to eight inches over the toilet seat itself, so it's not like it was just seeping, it was pressurized," said Walter. "This isn't like your toilet overflowed because the water was running. None of our water was running."

"There was a fountain of sewer water coming out of the toilet. It cleared the top of the bowl," said Scott.

The carpet has already been ripped out. Black residue remains in the bathtubs and the tiled floor. The kitchen sink is still backed up with black water. These visuals only provide half the details about the damage.

"The smell, is if you've ever been in a port-a-potty that hasn't been cleaned in months or you go to a campsite that they only clean once a season, that's as bad as it was," said Scott. "Since we've taken out the carpet, the smell has gotten a lot better."

The bedroom where their kids, Jimmy, 5, and Cheyenne, 3, slept was so flooded, the floorboards have already warped.

"It was so wet that my husband was moving our kids' bed out of here and he fell through the floor," said Scott. "It probably took two minutes to completely cover this whole bedroom. It was like a pool of water in here."

"There was an inch of sewage, of literal poop, black," said Walter.

The family has insurance, but fears the damage is greater than they're covered for. They also feel the mobile home community management is responsible for the damage.

"They were doing some work on another line somewhere in this park and all of a sudden it just started pouring up into here. The maintenance truck came down a couple trailers down and snaked the line and the flow stopped," said Scott. "Then, he came over and (asked) us if that helped and we're like, 'Well, the flow stopped,' and he's like, 'OK. There you go.'"

"We went to the office to find out what the next step was and they said, 'Not their problem,'" said Walter. "I tried to get the manager to physically come over here and see the damage and she just absolutely refused, and then called the police on me and told me that I was harassing them."

7NEWS tried to speak with on-site manager Lori Cress about the sewage maintenance that was taking place in the community on Tuesday. She wouldn't meet with us face-to-face and had the front desk receptionist provide a contact for the community's corporate office in Provo, Utah.

We contacted manager Nate Nelson at Kingsley Management Corp. in Utah. He told us there was someone in the community doing work on a sewer line in a completely different area. He said it didn't affect the specific line leading to Scott and Walter's home. He also said the reason their sewage backup stopped was because there was a maintenance person on site and quickly unclogged the line preventing more damage.

7NEWS asked the family if there was any chance the backup was something related to the home and not a community pipe.

"Absolutely not," said Walter.

"No way," said Scott.

Scott said to pay for a hotel the last couple of nights they had to stop payment on their rent check. Scott and Walter own the trailer, but rent the lot it's on. The management company left a note on their door requesting payment within five days or risk having to move out altogether.

"(I) have nowhere for my babies to live. Christmas is ruined, and they just don't care. No one cares," said Walter.

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Residents Return Home After Sewage Damage

MOVING back into North Wagga has been far easier for some residents than others.

Residents in Gardiner Street returned to water damage and a horrible smell thanks to sewage, while people just streets away found their homes untouched by the floods.

Thrown into chaos by the evacuation, residents were given the OK to return from the State Emergency Service (SES) on Friday afternoon and many are now awaiting the outcome of insurance claims.

Ricky and Marree Bruce were among the worst-affected residents, living in Gardiner Street. They returned home to find their home smelled so bad they could not stay.

"It's unlivable ... the sewage didn't go through the home but under it and the smell comes through," Marree Bruce said.

"The real estate were really good and they let us out of our lease and found us somewhere else to live ... we copped it from the river and then again from the water that flowed down from Gumly.

"It has been a tough time for our family, my sister's house at The Rock was flooded in October."

Mrs Bruce said one positive from the ordeal was they were able to rescue the family animals, which included a number of horses, sheep, goats and dogs.

While Mrs Bruce cleans up, Cath Quilter and her family have been able to move straight back into their home, which they bought just three weeks ago.

"The SES have been fabulous, they gave us ample time to pack but it took us four days to move in and half a day to evacuate so it was certainly chaotic," she said.

"It was a pretty anxious time, sitting and waiting for the river to rise but we were fortunate not to have any water through the house and we sandbagged our drains to keep the sewage out."

Mrs Quilter said she had missed some of her children's Christmas events due to the floods but was glad to find everything in working order on her return.

Residents are also advised to be aware of mosquitoes and the danger they pose through the transmission of diseases, especially with stagnant water and sewage across North Wagga.

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Family Moves After Sewage Damage

Topeka, KAN. (WIBW)—A sewage situation in Topeka has caused one family to pick up and move. Philip McFarland was preparing a family dinner when within minutes, his children were wading through waste.

"The smell was god awful, when it flooded, I was just in shock,” said McFarland.

Most of McFarland and his family's belongings are now nothing more than pictures of the past. A quiet night on November 10 was interrupted by the sounds and smell of sewage spewing from the bathroom.

McFarland said city crews were working on a sewer line just up the hill from his home when the flood happened. He filed a claim with the city requesting they pay him some $30 thousand for property damage and child endangerment. City officials are investigating if it was their crews that spawned this sewage situation.

"I want to be able to replace the things they lost,” said McFarland.

City spokesman David Bevens said investigators have collected the facts in the case and hope to come to a decision within the next two weeks.

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