The large amount of recent rain in the metro is already causing a flood of problems for some homeowners. One Gladstone homeowner in particular is blaming the city for raw sewage flooding her basement.
"I don't understand why there's human waste, sewage, in my basement," said homeowner Roxann Mallory.
"Something's going on with the drains in Gladstone," she said.
Mallory has lived on Wild Plum Lane for 17 years. However, it's been the last 12 months that have been the most difficult, the tipping point happening Monday afternoon when she walked down to her basement to find three inches of water flowing across the floor, some of it raw sewage. She said her sump pump was working and that the water was coming up out of a drain in her basement floor.
"I like living in this neighborhood but Gladstone needs to fix whatever the problem is," said Mallory.
Mallory also said a similar situation happened last year. She had a professional come out to inspect her pipes and the check came back clean. At this point she said it will cost thousands to clean everything up.
One of Mallory's neighbors also told 41 Action News they had to spend $15,000 last year to fix sewage issues they felt were the city's fault.
The city of Gladstone told 41 Action News they are sending someone out to inspect the neighborhood's pipes immediately. They also acknowledged that area is prone to flooding because it sits at the bottom a watershed. Add the incredible amount of rain, and backups can occur.
"There's some official gauges that we had over four inches in two hours yesterday afternoon," said Public Works Director Tim Nebergall.
For now, the city said the best option for homeowners is to submit an insurance claim and then install what's called a backwater valve.
"It does not allow any sewage or water in the city's sewer system to come back into the home," said Nebergall.
However, those valves can cost up to $2,000. Nebergall says once they inspect everything, they may pay to install valves for the homes that need them.
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Josh Helmuth can be reached at josh.helmuth@kshb.com
