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WEST HARTFORD, Conn. (WFSB) — Neighbors in West Hartford continued on Thursday to deal with a river of raw sewage that flooded their neighborhood.
The Metropolitan District Commission told Channel 3 that it figured out what caused a backup on Linbrook Road.
“Bypass pumping is continuing, and MDC crews, in concert with our contractor, have confirmed via CCTV camera and partial man entry that the sewer pipe liner has collapsed approximately 4 foot upstream of the manhole opposite 55 Linbrook,” said Kerry Martin, assistant to the chief executive officer, MDC. “This collapsed liner is the cause of the blockage.”
The road remains closed to thru traffic. Only local traffic from North Main Street to the west loop of Montclair Drive is allowed.
“Due to the excessive amount of groundwater inflow between the liner and host pipe, a [main] entry to remove the collapsed portion is not possible at this time,” Martin said. “MDC’s lining contractor is evaluating alternative mechanical means to remove the collapse in order to allow for a full inspection of this segment.”
Martin said the inspection must happen before a repair plan can be put in place.
He did not have an estimate as to when that might happen.
“At this time, normal sewer service has been established to all properties,” Martin said. “Additionally, driveway ramps have been installed over the bypass discharge lines to allow residents access from their driveways to the street.”
Some neighbors said they chose to spend the night in a hotel because the smell and damage were so bad.
Water continues to be constantly pumped out and rerouted around the blocked pipe.
In video viewers can see only on Channel 3, an MDC worker was lowered into the sewage pipe to try and find the blockage.
The MDC said the water remained high at the time, so they later had to send a camera down with the same goal.
The clogged pipe sent hundreds of gallons raw sewage into people’s homes on Wednesday.
Basements were pumped out for hours.
“We kind of pulled together to find the people who had basement problems and start bailing out basements,” said Paul Witinski, who was impacted by the sewage. “You still got to bail out your basement, you’re not going to let sewage fill 4 feet of your basement.”
The cleanup effort is expected to continue throughout the day on Thursday.
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