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When flooding gets particularly unpleasant

E-mail|Link|Comments () March 31, 2010 04:08 PM

Globe staff photo by Yoon S. Byun

Shawn Moorhouse in front of his flooded home in Winchester today.

By John M. Guilfoil and Milton J. Valencia, Globe Staff

FALL RIVER -- Thomas Lowney and his family spent their morning bailing raw sewage out of the ground floor of their raised ranch on Mount Hope Avenue, halfway up Townsend Hill.

They don’t have flood insurance. They never thought they’d need it. They live up a steep hill from the nearest body of water.

But just before 3 o’clock this morning, something went wrong down below.

The overloaded sewage system backed up, sending untreated filth bursting from the toilet and sinks.

“It’s not going good for us,” Lowney said today, as he surveyed the damage. “Within 5 minutes, we had over 500 gallons coming in. And not water -- sewage, fecal matter.”

Backups of raw sewage, like those reported in Fall River and in Winchester today, are one of the most dispiriting and unpleasant side effects of the flooding caused by the recent torrential rains.

Lowney had already gutted a ground-floor bathroom by this afternoon. Family heirlooms were boxed up, and fixtures were trashed.

“We gutted it. We had no choice,” he said. “We’re 150 feet above sea level and everything usually just drains right down. But this is a 100-year situation. The system just collapsed in on itself."

In Winchester, sewage spilled from manholes onto streets. Any homeowners who had not installed backflow prevention valves could also see sewage spilling out of their toilets.

Edward Grant, director of the Public Works Department, said that the affected streets were scattered throughout town. He said homeowners did not face an immediate safety threat, but officials are eyeing the spillage and will spread a lime decontaminant on affected areas. The town had spread the decontaminant after storms earlier this month, he said.

“Any time you deal with sewage, you have to take the precaution,” Grant said.

The town is seeing significant flooding because of the storm. The Aberjona River is already swollen, and is creeping toward homes along its shores. Several of the homes had to be evacuated after the storms earlier in the month, Grant said.

“When you have a town that’s built along a river, you’re going to have problems,” he said.

Fred Laskey, executive director of the MWRA, said today that the backup of the sewer system was a result of the overflowing of the Aberjona, a problem that will have to be resolved to prevent further similar incidents.

Ria Convery, an MWRA spokeswoman, said rainwater from the overflowing river had fallen into sanitary sewer manholes, overloading the system and causing the backups.

"Our sewer wouldn’t be filled if it wasn’t for all of the water coming out of the river and into the Winchester streets," Laskey said.

Because of flooded streets, classes at Winchester High School were canceled today. Classes at other schools were delayed for two hours.