HOUSTON – A couple in southwest Houston contacted KPRC 2 after raw sewage began pooling in front of their townhome in the Northbrook Village South neighborhood. James Sakwitz and his wife said they made multiple attempts to have the homeowners association send a plumber to make repairs but were told the plumber was on vacation.
“It’s raw sewage. It for sure is a health hazard, it stinks,” said Sakwitz. “It stinks in my house, it stinks out here, it’s disgusting.”
Sakwitz and his wife first noticed their toilets weren’t flushing properly and the water was draining slowly. Then, the stench of raw sewage filled their house.
Sakwitz said he quickly saw the sewage bubbling out of a line in front of his townhome. His is the last home in a line of townhomes in the complex.
“Anything they flush down the toilet goes through the same pipe and it’s all releasing right here in my garden,” said Sakwitz.
The pools of sewage stretched from in front of Sakwitz’s home for about another 20 yards to a manhole cover in a greenspace between units. The City of Houston sent public works crews out, but they could find no blockage on city sewer lines.
Sakwitz then called his own plumber who tried to find the blockage but was unsuccessful.
“I asked the HOA to come out and get a handle on it and they’re telling me their plumber is on vacation. He’ll fix it when he gets back,” said Sakwitz.
Sakwitz then shared an email string with KPRC 2 showing he was given no date as to when the plumber would return from vacation.
Sakwitz said the problem got so bad, they couldn’t use their own bathrooms.
“We are using buckets,” said Sakwitz. “I’m sorry, but if their plumber is out of town, they need to get another plumber out here to fix this issue.”
KPRC 2 tried to reach the HOA, but the number listed for the organization was not working. We then sent an email to the board member Sakwitz was asking for help. We received no response but soon after our email, Sakwitz did receive a message saying a plumber would be out between 9 and 10 Tuesday morning.
The city sent a second crew out to see if they could help alleviate some of the backup in the sewer lines prior to a plumber fixing the problem. This effort seemed to have reduced the standing water in front of Sakwitz’s home.
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