Residents To Pay For Repairs Out Of Pocket, Then File Claims

POSTED: 9:04 a.m. EST November 17, 2002

PASADENA, Calif. -- Raw waste rushing through a city sewer line backed up into homes, blowing open toilet lids, filling bathtubs and damaging at least seven homes.

Waste began rushing into toilets and drains at about noon Saturday after city workers unblocked a clogged sewer line, city Street Supervisor Leo Alamillo said.

"It was like a volcano out of the commode," Mario Duenas told the Pasadena Star-News.

His wife, Janice, said she ran into the bathroom and held down the toilet lid, but her legs were still covered with sewage. The couple estimated it would cost more than $5,000 to clean up their home.

In another house, sewage soaked carpets and nearly filled an 18-inch-deep bathroom tub. The release of the raw waste had some residents concerned about the spread of disease.

Alamillo said city workers followed standard procedures in clearing the blocked line and there was no way to have predicted that sewage would flow into the homes.

City policy requires the homeowners to pay their own cleanup costs, then file claims for reimbursement with the city.

-- Anonymous, November 17, 2002