SOUTH HOUSTON, Texas – Vincent Collura looks out onto what used to be his wife’s vegetable garden, it’s now just an open field of raw sewage filled with human waste coming from a collapsed sewer line.
“This is just unbearable," Collura said. "Every time we try to use our washing machine, or wash dishes or take a shower, the water just backs up into our house. The stench is unbelievable and it’s disgusting and we have been living with it since October."
For three months Collura and his wife Wanda said sewer water has been backing up into their home, leaving a brown goop pouring out of the toilets and the shower drain.
They have complained to the City of South Houston’s Water and Sewage Department, but said the problem continues.
“It’s gotten to the point where we just don’t know what to do next”, Collura said.
Collura isn’t the only one, water and sewage officials say the collapsed sewer line runs for a full two city blocks, from the 1100 to the 1300 block of Avenue K and is affecting at least 10 different homes.
According to Fred Gonzales, Superintendent of the South Houston Water and Sewer Department, a four-man crew has been working to replace the line since last week. He said the project will take another two to three weeks to complete.