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Sewer line backup leaves Portland resident fuming

“Anne-Louise Vernon got a raw deal after a city sewer line backed up last June, flooding the basement of her Southeast Portland home.

“The smell was gag-making. It was so disgusting,” said Vernon.

As nasty smelling toilet water and dark, raw sewage overflowed from her floor drain, Vernon scrambled to find help.

“It was pretty clear I had to do something because it wasn’t something that could wait,” explained Vernon.

A plumber helped identify the problem. Then, clean-up crews spent several days, drying out the basement and decontaminating her home.

“When I got the bill for over $5,200 I was practically in the fetal position,” said the retiree, who relies on social security for income. “I was devastated. That’s a really huge financial burden for me.””

Read more about this ordeal here.

According to data, this is far from an isolated incident for residents in Portland, OR. In fact, nearly 200 other property owners have faced similar sewer backup issues and have fought for reimbursement for cleanup costs. The likely cause of these issues is the fact the city’s sewer infrastructure is extremely old. Unfortunately, residents are left to solve these problems on their own with little recourse for getting compensated.

At DC Annis Sewer we perform sewer line cleaning service to residents in the Twin Cities area. If you need immediate service please don’t hesitate to call us at (612) 861-6425 for assistance.