About a dozen homes in Southeast D.C. were left without water and heat when a massive sewage backup flooded their furnaces on Monday night.
The affected residents are now trying to stay warm as they navigate a situation made more complicated by the fact that their homes sit right on the D.C.-Maryland line.
The bits of toilet tissue and other objects still floating in the water bubbling up through the sidewalk will tell you all you need to know about what’s been filling up the basement levels of some homes on Southern Avenue SE since Monday night.
It began when someone noticed water on the floor of the bathroom in a finished basement at about 9 p.m.
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“We grabbed the wet vac and you know, were cleaning up the water and it was coming from the shower. And around 9 o’clock, we were like, oh my God, it’s coming in the back door as well,” resident Khianti Silver said.
The dark, foul-smelling water continued to rise. Images show how it swamped upholstered furniture, electronics, appliances, storage closets and precious family mementos.
The affected homeowners are DC Water customers who called an emergency line to report that something was seriously wrong.
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“No one showed up here until around 10:20 this morning, and when they got here, the truck fell into the hole,” Silver said.
An image of one of the first responding DC Water vehicles shows its wheel sinking into the road.
“The ground just started sinking and the truck fell in, and it was like, OK, what’s really going on?” Silver said.
Then came the news no one expected: the sewage was coming from a damaged, 10-inch diameter pipe that was actually steps over the line in Maryland. It was therefore the responsibility of WSSC Water.
“We will work with these customers. We will get cleaning companies out here. We will do everything we can to help them through this situation,” WSSC spokesperson Lyn Riggins said. “With utilities like this buried underground, there’s not a quick fix. There’s not a quick answer, but we are working as quickly as we can.”
Many of the affected homes have finished basements, and the contents are likely to be a complete loss.
