Couple blames city’s misdiagnosis, inaction for raw sewage backup into home Mounting costs, including hotel bill, into thousands of dollars By: Chris Kitching Posted: 7:10 PM CST Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025 Last Modified: 7:09 AM CST Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025 Updates

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This article was published 19/02/2025 (254 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg couple whose renovated basement filled with raw sewage claims the mess — and costs in the thousands of dollars — could have been avoided if the city acted sooner to detect a broken underground pipe.

Sherburn Street residents Melanie Reimer and Kenton Friesen said insurance may not cover all damages, which could exceed $10,000, and they’re out nearly $6,000 in plumbing and hotel-room costs.

“Had (the city) listened to us the first time, this wouldn’t have gotten this far,” Reimer said. “We wouldn’t have been forced out of our house.”

The couple said water backed up into their West End home three times, followed by raw sewage once, from a private sewer pipe that became obstructed due to a break that happened on city property.

Reimer and Friesen said they reported the problem to the city before the raw sewage backup, explaining that multiple plumbers had visited and a blockage was found.

They said a city employee found the city sewer was flowing fine and the issue was on the “private sewer side.”

The couple said the city later agreed — after staff attended a plumber’s inspection following the raw sewage backup — the problem was within the public street area and was eligible for repairs at the city’s expense.

A city spokesperson was awaiting information from the water and waste department as of the Free Press publication deadline.

The couple is staying in a hotel with their nine-year-old daughter and dog, a husky mix, until repairs are completed to avoid additional backups and a sewage smell in the house.

“I hate that my house is starting to permeate this smell,” Reimer said. “The smell is getting into everything.”

The repairs are not expected to wrap up until Thursday or Friday after being delayed by extreme cold, she said.

The couple, who moved into the house in May 2023, hired companies to carry out a roughly $30,000 basement renovation last year.

Reimer said the company that installed the plumbing suggested it was “user error” after an initial water backup in June, so the family took care to avoid a repeat.

“We woke up to poop and pee all over the bathroom floor.”–Melanie Reimer

After a second backup two months later, a separate company performed a scope and jetting to clear any clogs.

Following a third water backup Jan. 2, the plumbing installer found a “major” obstruction in a section of pipe on city property, the couple said.

Friesen said city staff concluded the city sewer was not the problem. He said the couple, based on a city employee’s advice, reported the situation to 311 and submitted plumbing documents showing the work that was done.

Nothing came of it, and the couple “went on our way” because the pipe had been cleaned out, Reimer said.

Raw sewage then backed up into the basement Feb. 2.

“We woke up to poop and pee all over the bathroom floor,” Reimer said. “It was spreading into an adjoining room.”

City staff again visited and told the homeowners the city sewer was flowing as it should and the issue was the private pipe. They were told to request a visit from the water and waste department’s engineering services branch, which they did.

Two days later, after filing an insurance claim and temporarily moving in with Reimer’s mother, a plumbing company discovered an obstruction in the sewer pipe — on city property — while inspecting the line with city staff present.

Friesen said the obstruction was determined to be mud, which suggested a break in the line just beyond the point where the couple’s sewer pipe converges with a neighbour’s line.

Friesen said the city is arranging and paying for the repairs, which they are grateful for. A contractor initially expected to complete the work by Feb. 11.

The family moved back home for a few days, given the pipe was cleaned again and the couple was advised to be careful with usage.

Friesen said no one contacted them to let them know the repairs were delayed due to extreme cold. He said they found out when they noticed no work was happening Feb. 11.

By then, the family had drastically reduced its water use to avoid another backup.

“We just did not want anything worse to happen,” Reimer said.

Laundry piled up, they avoided using dishes that had to be washed and Friesen was even showering at work.

They decided to check into a hotel Feb. 12 because that situation was unsustainable, Reimer said.

She said their insurance provider told them the damage from the raw sewage backup is expected to amount to more than $10,000, and loss-of-use coverage cannot be triggered without a letter from the city stating the situation prevents the family from remaining in the house.

The couple wants the city to provide the letter or, if it refuses, cover the cost of the hotel stay, which is about $2,000, so far.

“Hope is high, expectations are low,” Friesen said.

The couple emailed Cindy Gilroy, their local councillor, to ask for help while they awaited a response from city staff a day after the raw sewage backup. Friesen said they did not receive a reply from Gilroy.

Gilroy told the Free Press that employees with the right knowledge and expertise were already in touch with the couple later that day when she looked into the email, and she yielded to those staff.

She said she would step in if it were a case where residents did not receive a response from a city department.

A Feb. 4 document given to the couple by water and waste department staff said repairs to private sewer service pipes can be covered by the city if the property owner can demonstrate that a blockage is located under a street and cannot be cleared satisfactorily by auguring from within the property, or that it is due to a structural failure in the private pipe.

The city said late Wednesday the pipe-repair work is expected to begin Thursday.

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca