Kelly Prew
Managing Editor
August 26, 2006 01:13 am
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There have been Huntsville folks who have experienced the worst days imaginable when it comes to home repair, remodeling and construction, but then there are the few who have found themselves in a devastating foul, wretched, smelly mess that takes thousands of dollars to clean up.
Gene and Felicia Myrick live on Overbrook in Elkins Lake, and nearly two years ago, they returned from a trip to find their basement covered in oozing, raw sewage.
“Whatever the problem, it backed up in our downstairs,” Felicia told the Item. “Our house was built in 1989, and it was not code at the time to have a back flow valve (which the city does not require).”
The Myricks immediately called Rainbow Cleaners for help. It took some effort, ripping up carpet, replacing Sheetrock and eliminating the biological hazard raw sewage brought into the home.
Bill Daugette, public services operations manager for the city of Huntsville, said it’s rare, but not necessarily uncommon for residents of a municipality to experience these kind of backups, and in some cases, there’s not a lot the city can do to help.
“In the last two years, we’ve probably had two to five instances like this,” he said. “Some insurances cover it and some don’t. The thing is, during a routine maintenance on a sanitation system, things like this can happen. Unfortunately, the city is not always responsible if it does.”
Daugette said the city actively tries to prevent residential sewer backups with regular clearing of sewer lines and by maintaining water stations to the best of its ability, but there are homeowners more susceptible to backups than others.
“Sometimes it can happen in an older part of town,” he said. “A lot of times, an accumulation of cooking grease can cause blockage, but other times, it can be rocks or other debris that stops it up. When we go to clean it out, there’s a lot of velocity moving through the lines, and if a (home) lot sits below the street, they could experience a backup.”
He warns homeowners, especially those who built below the street-level, to take every precaution and be aware of what their insurance will and will not cover.
“The city is insured by the Texas Municipal League, and if a claim comes through our office, we send it on,” he said. “Their adjuster will look at the situation and decide if we are responsible are not. In most cases, we are not.”
City attorney Thomas Leeper said that in Texas, governmental units, including municipalities, are immune from tort liability in the performance of governmental functions unless the Legislature has waived the immunity. The “Texas Tort Claims Act,” found at chapter 101 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code, is the primary law which addresses when liability is waived.
“In a very large portion of circumstances, a municipality would be immune from liability for damages resulting from a sewer backup,” he said in an e-mail to the Item. “To know for sure, the specific circumstances of a particular backup event would need to be evaluated in light of the Tort Claims Act and the large body of Appellate Court opinions which interpret and apply that act.
“Because of the strong likelihood that (city) immunity would exist, it is important for property owners and/or tenants to be aware of whether their insurance will cover losses caused by sewer backup. Then they can make an informed decision about whether they wish to obtain sufficient coverage for such a risk.”
The Scheffers, who also live on Overbrook, are currently trying to figure out their own legal situation, as their “upside down two-story” had to undergo clean-up in the last month.
“It is a mess when it happens,” Merle Scheffer said. “It had filled up our (downstairs) bathtub and got out into the closets and into family room and bedroom. Our cost will not run over $4,000, but it does not smell good. We were not even able to go down there. We were fortunate my husband went downstairs (when he did). I don’t know what would have happened.”
Daugette said the city promotes preventive measures, including having a plumber assess current sewer lines running to a home.
“Any plumber can come look, and we have several registered with the city who are in good standing,” he said. “They can tell a homeowner if they are at risk.
“People kind of take sewer for granted. It’s really a high-maintenance system.”
Currently, Daugette said, there are 25 to 50 lines around town that have a history of causing problems. Homeowners and prospective buyers can call the city and ask about specific areas.
“We’ve been keeping a record for the past three years, and we track every complaint,” he said. “Here at the city, we’re very proactive, and those areas go on a monthly maintenance list until we can fix the line or replace it.
“Every city has this problem. It’s not uncommon.”
The city of Huntsville currently has around 7,500 homes on the sewer system.
For more information on this and other sewer-related issues, call Daugette at (936) 294-5768 or Mark Reed, wastewater services superintendent, at (936) 294-5763.
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