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Under water: East End homeowners dealing with water-filled basements

The East End was a flurry of activity Monday morning as basements throughout the neighbourhood were filled with water from the nearby sewage treatment plant. Harold Hasher has lived on McLeod Street for 27 years. He woke up at 3 a.m.
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(Photo supplied)

The East End was a flurry of activity Monday morning as basements throughout the neighbourhood were filled with water from the nearby sewage treatment plant.

Harold Hasher has lived on McLeod Street for 27 years. He woke up at 3 a.m. to the sound of his dryer going off. When he went down to the basement, he saw water rushing up from the shower drain and toilet.

“Within minutes I was standing in a foot of water,” Hasher said standing on his front lawn as fire and hydro crews worked throughout the neighbourhood. “It came up really fast.”

Power has been cut off to Hasher’s home as the sewage water in his basement crept past three feet and continued to rise. Hasher said he’s lost everything from furniture to home theatre equipment to family photographs because of the damage. Like others, he’s been told to sit upstairs and wait.

“We’re at a loss like everyone else in the neighbourhood. We don’t know what else to do, just sit and wait,” he said. “We’re upset. We don’t know what to do we don’t know where to turn to next.”

It was the same throughout streets all over the East End. One man, who has lived in his home since 1963, was visibly upset as water was pumped from his basement. With the power to his home shut off, the man said he doesn’t know what to do.

“What am I supposed to eat, the stars?” The man who didn’t want to be named asked.

The Atlantic Avenue sewage treatment plant typically has up to 60 mega litres per day running through it. By 2 a.m. Monday, the water running through it had reached capacity and caused the main sewage pumps to fail, flooding the plant.

“The meters had actually gone off scale so we were somewhere between 670 mega litres per day but probably closer to 750,” city infrastructure and operations manager Darrell Matson said.

 





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