Ford City Resident Bob Bure politely but urgently told Council that the Sewage Authority must step up and take responsibility for the errors created during the sewage separation project that now leaves raw sewage in his basement.
Ford City Borough Council heard from angry residents at their public meeting last night over something they can’t control - the Ford City Municipal Sewage Disposal Authority.
Bob Bure lives on the 1200 block of Fifth Avenue. He said that he never had issues with raw sewage backing up into his basement during the 12 years he has lived there until the sewage separation project separated sewer lines from the storm water lines three years ago.
“I can’t flush anything or do anything,” Bure told council members. “On Saturday, I figured it was going to be bad so I came home and put everything up (in the basement) that I could. I went and played golf and when I got back, it was backing up into the basement. I do have a pump myself, but it was small and could not handle it. I had to call the fire company in. I had it all drained out last night. The floor started drying. I thought I was done. I got up this morning, went down and looked, and nothing. Pipe was clear. I went up and took a shower. Then I took one more look and it was full again. So I went down and turned my pump on and it could not hold it. It came in faster today than it did yesterday. And it rained harder yesterday than it did today.”
Bure maintains the slope from the house to the main sewer tap is wrong - and he said he told contractors that fact when they were doing the work. However, his concerns were never addressed. He said that there have been occasions where he has had eight inches of sewage in his basement.
Another unidentified couple from the 1300 block of Fourth Avenue complained about similar problems.
“What do we do today? We can’t flush our toilets or use our shower!” the woman exclaimed. “We have been calling the sewage authority to tell them to come and pull the manhole cover off. I can’t go to a hotel. We both have to work.”
Council President Carol Fenyes said the tremendous amount of steady rain has contributed to the issue.
“I was looking down the manhole covers myself today and they are within four feet of the top. There is just too much water!” Fenyes responded.
“We voiced our concerns when they dug that new sewage line and they told us we were crazy. It’s just not deep enough,” the woman continued.
“We have to address the Sewage Authority with it, and we intend to,” Fenyes assured residents. “I feel for the condition, but I don’t know what to do about it.”
For residents wanting to file a complaint, the next meeting of the Sewage Authority is Thursday, September 20 at 7PM at the plant.