Raw Sewage Fills Church, Home; Bills, Questions Remain
DENVER (CBS4)- A church in Denver and a home next door continue to undergo repairs after a sewage backup that occurred the night of Christmas Eve.
The Calvary Apostolic Church at 5900 E. Yale Ave and a home nearby were both submerged in more than one foot of raw sewage in December.
Four weeks after the basements flooded, the Holly Hills Water and Sanitation board had not addressed reimbursement for damages caused by the flooding.
Those involved, including home owner James Riley, told CBS4's Dillon Thomas they felt the backup was never their fault.
"You leave for Christmas vacation, and come home to a foot of sewage in your basement," Riley said.
Riley, a plumber himself, spent the last month digging for answers as to why his home along Holly Place in Denver was flooded for the second time in 10 years.
"It makes you think, 'Should we sell this house and move somewhere else?'" Riley said.
Riley's basement was the only level of his home damaged and most of the items in the basement were damaged or destroyed. Riley said some items like his work computer, beds, brand new washing machines, and his wife's possessions from Germany were among those damaged.
"Everything was soaked in sewage," Riley said.
The backup was noticed after a member of the Calvary Apostolic Church went to the church to check mail on Christmas Eve. When she arrived, she noticed a bad smell.
With an estimated $500,000 in damages, the pastor of the church told CBS4 the church member may have saved the building from even more damages if gone unnoticed.
After calling for help from fellow church goers, members called for help. According to members Benjamin and Stacey Mitchell, it took a worker from Holly Hills Water and Sanitation hours to arrive. The sewage level continued to rise throughout the wait.
"Four hours of water was just constantly flowing into the church," Stacey Mitchell said.
The church was forced to cancel Christmas Day services, leaving hundreds of members without a place to worship.
An attorney for Holly Hills Water and Sanitation told CBS4 the backup may have been caused by leftover tailings, called "coupons," from sewage line repairs upstream.
Attorney Tim Flynn told CBS4 the sanitation department was still investigating if the coupons were to blame for the backup, or if the backup was caused by improper use of the system by nearby homeowners.
Photos provided by Calvary Apostolic Church showed the clogged sewage line, and how removing the debris from the line returned proper drainage in minutes.
Classes for Calvary Apostolic Church's K-12 school had to be moved to the church's lunch room. Because of the flooding, the church's boiler was broken. The church said the boiler would have to be completely replaced.
While Holly Hills Water and Sanitation did pay for removal of the sewage, preliminary cleanup, and sanitation, the rest of the costs for both the church and nearby home have been left to the owners.
Flynn said the board would have to investigate whether or not their system was liable for the damages. If so, Flynn said the group's insurance company would cover those damages. If not, Flynn said the board could still elect to give funding to the victims out of the Holly Hills budget.
The Riley family had to move out of their home while repairs were completed. The family elected to spend $150 a night to rent a home from AirBNB. With the cost of the rental, alongside other out-of-pocket expenses, the family said they are more than $7,000 in the hole from this experience.
The Riley family said they wanted to remain in the home they've owned for 13 years. However, they said a cause and resolution needed to be determined by Holly Hills Water and Sanitation, alongside a plan for reimbursement.
"Action needs to be taken in order to prevent another incident like this from happening again," Sabina Riley said.
Dillon Thomas is a reporter at CBS4 and a Colorado native. He believes everyone has a story, and would love to share yours! You can find more of his stories by following him on Twitter, @DillonMThomas.
