ST. LOUIS – A water main break in a low-income St. Louis neighborhood on Carter Avenue has residents scrambling.
Cornelius Higgins contacted FOX 2 when the water started gushing from the ground. The sewage that flooded basements and left an awful stench behind severely damaged his home as well as several of his neighbors’ homes.
Higgins said the city had not returned to check on him to see what the damage was and what could be done about it.
“The city should come and at least look at it and give me an idea what can they do or something,” he said. “Tell me something, don’t just hide it, seems like they are hiding. You call them, you either get an answering machine or nobody calls at all.”
In addition to the water department, he called the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (MSD).
“I called MSD the first day, and they responded the next day saying they’re not responsible,” Higgins said. “The water department, and they gave me a number to call, and I’ve been calling ever since. Can’t get anything.”
He said his basement is a mess. Sewage is still on the floors, and all his furniture is ruined, along with the washer, dryer, and furnace. There was also an awful smell in the house. He said he is short on money and just doesn’t know where to start.
A spokesperson for the St. Louis Mayor’s Office released the following statement:
The Water Division works hard to maintain and repair St. Louis’ aging water infrastructure. The Water Division has not yet received a claim from Mr. Higgins, however they will be reaching out to him and will review his claim after it is filed.”
A spokesperson for MSD also commented on the issue saying:
The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (MSD) is responding to damages brought about by a water main break on Carter Street, managed by St. Louis City Water. The water main break caused damage to the public wastewater sewer infrastructure and led to basement backups in several homes within the affected area. Our crews promptly mobilized and are currently on-site repairing the damaged sewer lines.
While MSD is actively addressing the damage to the public wastewater infrastructure, the water main break, which triggered this situation, is not part of the infrastructure MSD oversees. As such, the responsibility for the basement backups caused by this event also falls beyond the scope of MSD’s services.
MSD is committed to swiftly completing the necessary repairs to our system and restoring services to their usual high standard as quickly as possible. We appreciate your understanding and patience as we work to mitigate the impact of this incident on our systems and our community.
Higgins is just hoping that help comes soon.