sewage problem at neighbor's house

16 years ago

Hi. A neighbor/friend of ours on our street has a serious problem in his house, and I'm wondering who he should talk to, in which order, to get it resolved.

Background: 1920's twin home on a street of many of the same. The basement has a freestanding toilet...this set up is typical of homes of this age in this area (Philadelphia, PA suburbs). The problem is that sewage comes up through the toilet and all over their basement floor. This happens frequently. Our neighbor fears removing the toilet and capping it because the sewage could then come up one floor up into the kitchen sink (yuck).

Our friend suspects that the previous owner (a realtor) knew about this problem (how could she not have known?). However, there was no disclosure of the problem, so there is no actual proof that she knew. They evidently tried to pursue the lack of disclosure angle and were told they have no case because there is no proof of the previous owner's knowledge of the problem. Something tells me an unscrupulous realtor-owner (NOT that all or even most realtors are this way!...please don't misunderstand me) would know how to cover any tracks in this department.

Since this started happening, our neighbor has had his whole front yard dug up and a new sewage pipe installed. This was a couple of years ago. This alleviated much of the problem for a while, but now the problem is back full force. A plumber came out to assess the situation and said that the problem is not in their house or yard but between the mushroom caps between their pipe and the street.

Our neighbor wants to find out if this is in fact the township's responsibility. However, he is hesitant to call the township first as he fears getting the run around and delay after delay. One important bit of info is that his house to our knowledge is the ONLY house on the street that this problem occurs in. Hence the township will not be in a rush to fix this if it is in fact the township's responsibility.

So, anyway, who should be the first person to contact in this situation? A real estate lawyer? A real estate agent familiar with the area who might know how to proceed? Important to note is that our neighbor has very little money. If this is not the township's responsibility, he really does not know what to do because he can't pay to fix this problem.

Any advice about whom to contact before any dealings with the township would be helpful.

Thanks so much. Sorry for the long post.

- mando

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Comments (7)

qdognj
16 years ago
I would call the township asap, and describe the problem,you note you are in a Philly suburb, not the city, so i doubt a run-around or delay would happen..It sounds like a blockage in the line,though you say this neighbor had the lateral replaced several years ago.My best guess is the issue lies in the area where their lateral meets the sewer main, hence a township issue..
sweet_tea
16 years ago
Installing a backflow device may solve this problem.

One small city(not in PA) that I know of periodically flushes out their sewer system via doing something at street in certain areas. when they do this, my friend's home gets an explosion of water coming from the toilet. Water goes all over the floor. It is not sewage, thank goodness.

I was visiting one day when the city showed up to do this. It sounded like a monster (swush, swirl, roar) under the toilet. Then the water started gushing.

So I ran out(after taking photos) to talk to the city workers. They said you can install a backflow device either in the basement or at the entrance of the home and this will solve the problem. They said most of the homes don't have an issue (I guess the rest of the homes must have backflow devices?).

I am not sure if your neighbor's issue is related to the same thing, but a backflow device might solve your neighbor's issue as well.

A plumber should know what one is.
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kec01
16 years ago
I'd show up at the township office, with my receipts for work done along with pictures of the backup, and talk to them. I think a face to face visit will be the most productive first step. Depending on what happens from that visit, then I'd think about the next steps.
cearbhaill (zone 6b Eastern Kentucky)
16 years ago
I would definitely abandon any hopes you/he might have of pinning the blame for this issue on the previous owner. They may or may not have been aware of it- it doesn't matter as you can't prove it and any attempt to do so is going to cost much more than simply fixing the problem.

And it must be remedied.
I would be standing at the township door the moment they open and keep after them until something happened. I find the fact that he has tolerated it even this long to be baffling. Years, you say?

Call the public health department, call the consumer advocate at the local television station, call the newspaper. I'd be making some noise.
davidandkasie
16 years ago
sounds like backpressure on the line. we had this problem late last year at one of our offices. the plumber checked our line all the way to the city main and it was fine. we called the city and they came out to check. that was when they noticed that the brand new sign for the rent to own place next to us was directly over the city main sewer line. the weight of the sign and concrete had pinched the line down and caused restricted flow. the city moved the line, though they billed the RTO store for it.

the biggest advantage we had in getting the city to do something was it would happen when no one was at the office. the 100% ruled out a blockage on our part, so the city knew it was somethign on their end.

it could be tree roots, it could be a broken pipe, but something is causing back pressure and thus back flow.
logic
16 years ago
Actually, they should conatact the sewer authority that oversees the sewage infrastructure...which may or may not even be in their town. They are generally very heavily regulated by the state environmentall department...and as such, can be fined heavily if their infrastructure is responsble for the release of raw sewage such as you have described....as this may also be infiltrating the groundwater.

They should provide all documentation of the problem inclusive of the repairs already made. IMO, chances are they will indeed get a favorable response. If not...they should contact PADEP (Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection) ASAP.
mandogirl
Original Author
16 years ago
Thank you, everyone, for all the thoughtful feedback. I appreciate it, and I will pass these ideas along to my neighbor.
- mando

sewage problem at neighbor's house

Comments (7)

qdognj

sweet_tea

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kec01

cearbhaill (zone 6b Eastern Kentucky)

davidandkasie

logic

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sewage problem at neighbor's house

Comments (7)

qdognj

sweet_tea

Related Discussions

kec01

cearbhaill (zone 6b Eastern Kentucky)

davidandkasie

logic

mandogirlOriginal Author

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mandogirl
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