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tn_jed

sewage flood

tn_jed
13 years ago

hi I just went down to the bottom field and there is a sewer line that runs the length of the field under the west end and there is a manhole that i found overflowing. a whole 8 acre field flooded with sewage. I called the city and they came out and unclogged the sewer line but now i am left with an 8 acre field unusable and i was really counting on having that field in production this coming year but now I just don't know what to do. I am going to talk to a lawyer friend tomorrow to see if he can help me find out what kind of rights i have and what actions i can take to have the city Do something about this. I know the Health Department would have some issues with this and I am sure the EPA would too. I have been reading up on the health dept. regulations and if i can't get anywhere with the city I might have to have the health dept do an investigation to determine if the sewer system is up to date in proper working order and if it is being maintained properly. I would be happy with a trench with a pond liner in it to capture any waste that may over flow or something anything I just don't know what to do or how long it would take for the soil to recover and return to normal levels of bacteria. its bad bad blow I am just so disappointed right now and have no clue what to do..I welcome any advice...

Comments (6)

  • dirtdigging101
    13 years ago

    you need a real estate attorney, the details will be in the deed and what right of way the sewer line has. co go good or bad, but nost likely not good for you. If not good for you , try to get the municipality that is responsible to help you with a real solution, ttesting services and perhaps even free leaf compost if they have it,

    the problem with raw sewage is that cholera can live for 7 years unless it is treated to 180 degrees there may be other treatments just do not know like I said see if you can get them to clean it up and make it safe to use.

  • tn_jed
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    only problem is my real estate attorney's law firm works as the city attorney so i think i would have to find another one the next town over, but that's no problem... I am going to the register of deeds tomorrow to look up the easement to see what exactly it says. I think that there may be something in there about damages done that might work out in my favor. once it dries up this summer i will get the soil tested and see how bad it really is but what i need is for them to fix the problem so that if it floods or clogs again there is an over flow tank or some kind of containment so if there is a problem it does not spread and can be caught before it floods me out again. I am sure that the easement is not for a leach field which is what it looks like has been going on. It is going to be a long hard battle I hope they are willing to work with me. the previous owner of the land said they were pretty good at making things right, bought them a new tractor when a manhole cover was left off and they hit it while mowing...will see what happens i guess

  • cowpie51
    13 years ago

    tn, I would quarantine the area to protect yourself and public then spread some agriculture lime on soil asap.

    It would also help to spray a solution of unscented bleach with a sprayer ( 1/2 oz. per gallon---250 gallon tank = 1 gallon).
    After these disenfectant tactics and natural rain falls-- you should be free to plant in spring. Mark

  • dirtdigging101
    13 years ago

    Bleach will not touch many microbes. Clorox does not kill mold. I clean up sewage and mold for a living. Stronger chlorine products are of little use also. yoU need the products that they use in the hopsital and you hve to get it it into everything. For instance in a carpet situation just spraying the carpet is not going to help the product must be worked deep into the arpet and likely more than once. There has to be experts out there in this , I still think testing will tell if you have a problem or not.

  • myfamilysfarm
    13 years ago

    Personally, I would give it a full year before I tried to grow anything edible. I would also have it tested before planting. Bleach is not the cure-all for germs, unlike what they would like for us to believe. There is too much ecoli and such out in the world today. My mother-in-law is in the hospital right now partially due to ecoli, and the only thing we can think of is she wanted some head lettuce. Can't be sure where it may have come from. We all need to be more careful than we needed to be in the 'olden' times.

    Marla

  • tn_jed
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    well i found enough room on our land to make up for it I just really didn't want too plow up that piece as it is like our own private park but the show must go on so i will plow it up. hopefully we can work with the city to come up with a solution. I was talking to one of the public works guys and he suggested if we can get electricity down to there to put some sort of an alarm, I suggested we put a overflow tank coupled with that alarm, but the only challenge is that to do 5,000 dollars of work the government seems to spend 400,000 researching it first. hopefully we can create a overflow tank with a bypass pipe down to the next manhole so that if it gets clogged an alarm sounds and it is bypassed to the next manhole and if its clogged behind that one it can fill a tank and hopefully be caught in time to prevent spillage. for now i will just have to work with what ive got.