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A HOMEOWNER is left with a massive bill after being put in a sticky situation when sewage overtook her home.
Katherine Little, 81, cannot move back home after sewage soaked her floors and lawn eight months ago.
The North Carolina homeowner blames the vile disaster on her water and sewer provider, South Granville Water and Sewer Authority, also known as the SGWASA, local NBC affiliate WRAL reported.
The great sewage disaster happened on May 14, 2024, and a video taken by Little’s daughter on that day shows sewage rising on the front lawn.
“So, there’s sewage in the entire house right here,” Little’s daughter Cassandra said in the video.
“Everything is soaked with sewage.”
The SGWASA vehemently denies that the incident was their fault.
“The sewer system was clogged as a result of debris stuffed into the sewer. The clogged sewer system prevented normal downstream sewer flow,” SGWASA told WRAL.
“The sewer flow backed upstream into the sewer system throughout the area.
“During the sewer backup caused by the debris (vandalism), Ms. Little’s home was flooded with sewage.
“A sewer maintenance company was called on site to unclog the sewer line for SGWASA because SGWASA’s sewer jet equipment could not break through the clog.
“The sewer jetting action occurred many hours after the initial blockage of the sewer line and the resulting backup.”
The company pointed out that Little’s home had a sewer lateral installed at a lower elevation than the main SGWASA sewer line.
SGWASA mentioned that none of her neighbors closer to the blockage had any problems with the sewer.
Little alleged that the jetting, which uses high water jets to power through a clog, caused her problem.
Records show that the jetting performed by the SGWASA occurred at 11 pm, and 13 minutes later, the North Carolina woman called the police to report the sewage leakage in her home.
Little filed an insurance claim but was denied. The company cited that weather and debris in the line were beyond their control.
The insurance company agreed to cover $10,000 in damages, but Little said she needed at least $63,000.
SGWASA Full Statement
“The sewer system was clogged as a result of debris stuffed into the sewer. The clogged sewer system prevented normal downstream sewer flow. The sewer flow backed upstream into the sewer system throughout the area. During the sewer back up caused by the debris (vandalism), Ms. Little’s home was flooded with sewage. A sewer maintenance company was called on site to unclog the sewer line for SGWASA because SGWASA’s sewer jet equipment could not break through the clog. The sewer jetting action occurred many hours after the initial blockage of the sewer line and the resulting backup. A cause of the backup into Ms. Little’s home, however, is also the fact that the sewer lateral coming from her home (the customer’s responsibility) to the SGWASA main sewer line was installed at an elevation that was too low. A number of houses were closer to the blockage than her home. None of those homes had a backup event, because they do not have a too-low connection to the main sewer line.”
“All my money gone, gone to pay for it,” she said.
Cassandra fought her mother’s case with the SGWASA, claiming that the damages were beyond what her mother could afford.
The board told WRAL that “a legal investigation and follow-up investigation determined that the recent act of vandalism, proven to have caused the backflow occurrence on Ms. Kathryn Little’s property, was not a result of the Authority’s actions or any perceived inactions.”
“I am disgusted with the whole mess. I am very disgusted with it,” Little said.
