D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser says D.C. Water will assist Northeast residents whose homes were swamped with sewage when record rainfall drenched the city on Thursday.
Bowser said in a letter to residents in Riggs Park and Edgewood on Sunday that D.C. Water would "provide our residents with access to both information and, when possible, resources to support their recovery from the storm."
"I believe DC Water recognizes the need for a swift process moving forward to quickly clean up water-damaged property," Bowser said in the letter.
Bowser also said she directed D.C.'s Homeland and Security and Emergency Management Agency to coordinate any other city agencies D.C Water may need assistance from in its efforts to help the residents.
Edgewood residents told News4 on Friday that they received no promises for disaster relief and they were referred to homeowners insurance for damage from sewer backups. Some say they have already been told that insurance companies won’t cover this type of damage.
Residents said a local disaster declaration would help those who don’t have the resources to handle the expenses.
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On Thursday, some homeowners in Edgewood and Riggs Park watched as geysers of sewage water started shooting from their basement drains.
City officials confirmed the rain quickly filled the enormous storm runoff tunnels created to stem years of widespread flooding in the adjoining Bloomingdale neighborhood.
"There was literally a river of water coming into my basement," said Darnelle Jones, who lives in Edgewood. "I have a truck, and that water was literally to the hood of my truck.”
