OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - Imagine coming home to a soaked basement with a smell that makes you sick. Three Omaha neighbors endured a sanitary sewer back up in September and one of them filed a claim with the city of Omaha.
A finished basement that’s more than a man cave.
Tony Valencia, the homeowner said, “This is our living room really.”
But unlivable for the Valencia family since sewage blasted from drains three months ago.
“It was pretty awful to be down here or really anywhere in the house. The whole house just really reeked,” said Valencia.
But to the Valencia’s, what really stinks is the city denying their damage claim.
Lyuda Valencia, the homeowner said, “I can’t live like this. I need my house back to normal. So I have to use my savings, my retirement savings to fix the house.”
For liability, the city must have known about the problem and had a reasonable time to fix it. The sewer jetted clear three years ago by a SID and when annexing the neighborhood in 2018 the city didn’t get notice of any prior backups. So, an assistant city attorney writes there’s no evidence of negligence by the city.
“They’re just using the technical legal feelings to avoid taking care of a taxpaying person in this community,” said Tony.
Two neighbors also had sewer backup damage.
Bonnie McMucllens finished basement looks pretty nice, but she says just a few months ago it didn’t look this way and smelled terrible.”
Bonnie spent $20,000 for repairs and is filing a claim with the city.
“And they told me this morning that in this manhole down here there’s a bunch of concrete that fell through the ground and it’s all plugged, so yeah I think it’s the city’s problem,” said Bonnie.
That may have been caused by a SID subcontractor, but neighbors say when annexing the city should inherit unseen issues known or not.
The assistant city attorney in charge of claim reviews says a homeowner raised questions about sewer work in the area since the annexation. So, she will take another look at the claim.
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