10 August 2020
CHESTERFIELD, Mo. (KMOV.com) – Water bubbled up, flooding Rick Howard’s basement after his Chesterfield neighborhood experienced nearly seven inches of rain.
As the water from the sewer subsided, he was left with a muddy mess.
It was a similar story for the Browdy family just a few blocks over on Country Ridge Drive.
“Everything goes,” said Tom Browdy as he surveyed the damage to his basement.
The couple just finished remodeling their basement after a previous sewer problem. Karen Browdy discovered the soggy carpet Sunday after the previous night’s heavy rains.
“I heard the scream and ‘Oh no not again,” said Tom.
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD) said at least 15 homes had basements flood after Saturday night’s heavy rain. Some parts of the area got up to seven inches of rain.
“The area had overcharged sewer mains, which means the water did enter the home from the MSD sewer,” said spokesperson Sean Hadley.
The Browdys have dirt and gravel in their basement from the backup, making them worry the flooding isn’t just due to rain but perhaps the MSD construction happening behind their homes.
“We think something didn’t get closed up back here and some of it got back in the lines somehow,” questioned Tom.
MSD is expanding the sewer system but Hadley says the ongoing project did not play a part in this weekend’s sewer backup.
“The project had nothing to do with this, just too much water in a short amount of time,” he explained.
Impacted homeowners are eligible for $3,000 minus a $100 deductible from MSD as part of their basement backup protection. MSD says its not something offered by all sewer districts. Anyone with damage must report it to the customer service line at 314-768-6260 to be eligible.
But the Browdys say their damage could cost upwards of $20,000. They have insurance but their worry is will it happen again.
“We want to make sure our insurance company knows it’s not us, it’s MSD,” said Tom.
Source: kmov.com