Homeowners left feeling drained

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This article was published 28/09/2021 (1474 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

On May 29, a thick, grey sludge linked to a city construction project rose up through Kaitlin Bialek’s sewer drain.

Four months later, the final repair bill sparked by the cement-like grouting mixture adds up to just over $100,000.

“It was a shock… I’ve gone over (the bill) numerous times… wondering: how does it add up? It makes sense, it does, it’s just crazy,” said Bialek.

Documents shared with the Free Press show the price includes work to excavate and replace clogged weeping tile, as well as repair concrete, drywall, carpentry and landscaping. Deck, flooring and sidewalk repairs are also required.

Bialek said the price surged partly due to a need to bring elements of the home up to current codes once the repairs began, so the finished product would pass an inspection, which included foundation work and the addition of a sump pump.

While her insurance company will cover the tab, Bialek is frustrated the City of Winnipeg hasn’t offered more help. She said about four of her neighbours’ homes also took extensive damage, some of whom also face bills of $60,000 or more.

Bialek believes the city should commit to covering the affected homeowner’s deductibles, insurance premium increases and any other remaining costs linked to the damage.

“We had a beautiful home that the city (project) destroyed,” Bialek said.

She said the city has also been slow to respond to calls and questions, which included a roughly one-month wait for a response after she submitted repair quotes.

Bialek’s neighbour, Fraser Jack, said he’s also facing a six-figure repair bill, with costs still piling up.

The sludge spread through his basement and much of the first floor, even spilling outside, while he was out of town for work.

Jack said the home remains “a major work in progress.”

“That’s definitely been a struggle and a long struggle at that,” he said. “I’m just so frustrated with all of this… we’re (months in) now.”

It also requires a weeping tile replacement, along with an electrical upgrade to support a new sump pump and many other repairs.

Jack echoed the demand the city pay for any damage costs the insurance companies won’t, such as deductibles.

“For me to have to (pay that), if my insurance rates go up, and my premiums go up, I think that’s a little outrageous.”

Another neighbour, George Munroe, agrees.

“The city’s done the damage, they should pay the bill — 100 per cent,” said Munroe.

In June, civic officials told the Free Press the unusual backup occurred when a city contractor was working on a new sewer trunk shaft. Grout breached the area’s combined sewer and wound up entering some homes, spokesman Adam Campbell said at the time.

On Monday, Campbell said the cause of the breach “was likely an operational error.”

“We are responding to all related inquiries by residents,” he added, in an emailed statement.

The city declined comment on the details of specific claims. Campbell noted homeowners are expected to submit repair quotes to their home insurance companies.

“The final amount covered through property insurance is a matter to be discussed between the property owner and their insurers, as it is ultimately up to their insurers to decide to exercise their right of recovery from the city’s project liability insurers. Any uninsured losses, including deductibles, may also be submitted to our project insurer for review,” he wrote.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga