Homeowner: Sewer backup responsibility is the real mess
Updated: Tue 11:22 PM, Mar 08, 2016
By: Mike McKnight
BELLEVUE, Neb. (WOWT) -- A sewer backup damages several Bellevue homes. One elderly couple said it would really stink if they had to pay for any of the cleanup repairs and replacement furniture.
Working at his computer Bill Vance got a bad feeling The Bellevue homeowner said, "All of a sudden my feet felt damp." Checking the laundry room he got a sense of what happened. Vance said, "I see feces everywhere and the smell was horrible."
A Bellevue sewer backed up into Bill's basement and neighbors shared the misery.Vance said, "There were nine claims from my house down."
A private contractor working for the city of Bellevue was making emergency sewer repairs and severed a water main, causing sewage to flush back into homes. Six on Your Side pieced together information from several sources that there is a question whether or not Metropolitan Utilities District properly notified the city's subcontractor of a 6 inch water line before they started digging.
MUD Senior Vice President Mark Doyle said its not the utilities fault. Doyle said the Diggers Hotline request by the subcontractor states "Mark the rear" of several properties. MUD gave the all clear because the water line isn't in the rear. Doyle said, "There are water mains in the streets in that area but we weren't asked to locate anything in the streets."
The Bellevue city contractor Gearhart Construction won't comment but affected residents say a company owner stopped by and has agreed to pay cleanup costs for the estimated 9 homes affected. That doesn't include repairs and furniture replacement.
Bill Vance doesn't like hearing that, "I want one of them to take responsibility to put my home back the way I worked all these years to have it."
The contractors insurance Columbia is investigating whether to pay claims and the adjuster tells Six On Your Side that his findings may be done by the end of the week. Bill Vance said who takes complete responsibility may be the real mess. The city administrator said Bellevue is not responsible for the sewer backup. However city officials will push to have the question of liability resolved quickly so residents affected can get their lives back together without worrying about cost.