Local woman angry over CMUD's response to exploding toilet
08:17 AM EST on Friday, February 24, 2006
By TONY BURBECK / 6NEWS
E-mail Tony:
TBurbeck@WCNC.comLinky here:
http://www.wcnc.com/news/local/stories/022306ccklrWCNC-jmn-sewage.58d1c1dc.htmlCharlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities (CMUD) said it is not responsible for cleaning up the mess from a sewer line that exploded inside a family's home damaging nearly everything inside.
Now a local mother and the utility are disagreeing over who's responsible for the smelly mess and how it should be cleaned up.
CMUD said what happened in the woman's bathroom was the result of grease neighbors poured down the drain. They said the grease built up over time, until what usually goes down came up unexpectedly.
"We heard a thump," said Marilyn Colon.
The next thing she knew her toilet exploded.
"Feces, urine, oil& &it went all through the house," said Colon.
Colon described what she saw.
"You can see where the pressure from the water lifted the toilet bowl," she explained.
She also described the smell.
"You couldn't breathe, your eyes would tear," she said.
She's still dealing with what happened.
"I lost everything," said Colon.
Colon and her landlord called CMUD for help and that's where a messy story became complicated.
Legally, CMUD said it doesn't have to provide cleanup services but they do it anyways. CMUD contacted their insurance adjustor. A cleaning company came and a restoration company is waiting to repair the floors.
They gave Colon a contract to install a valve to prevent another mess, but she said she and her landlord won't give the OK.
She said that would let CMUD off the hook and she claims air ducts and floor boards were not cleaned.
"My home is contaminated," she said.
CMUD said the grease people poured into drains blocked the sewer.
"It's the city's duty to clean the pipes," said Colon. "It hasn't been cleaned in a long time."
CMUD said its last sewer backup in the area was in 1990.
Crews cleaned the line Monday. Now Colon and her six year old daughter are staying at a neighbor's house trying to figure out what to do next.
