Temporary pump station creating temporary sewage issues
CENTRAL - A temporary pumping station is creating some nasty results for a few homeowners in Central.
On multiple occasions, Robert Kusch says he's woken up to raw sewage spewing in the backyard. A pipe connected to a large portable pump appears to have come loose. He tells 2 On Your Side that he's called the City-Parish on each occasion to fix the problem, but he insists he shouldn't have to.
"It's been happening, it happens every week," said Kusch.
The smell is awful and Kusch doesn't want his family going anywhere near the pump.
"Our children are out here playing, we have dogs that run around, it's pretty nasty," he said. "The smell is terrible."
Kusch says this has gone on long enough and he's tired of picking up the phone for someone to come clean up the mess each time it happens.
"They come out and fix it, then something else happens and it happens again," he said.
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The latest incident happened early Monday morning. On other occasions, he says the backyard is white - littered with soggy toilet paper.
The City-Parish tells 2 On Your Side the pump station was operating on bypass and at some point, the discharge hose disconnected from the pump. It learned of the disconnected hose this morning at approximately 7:00 a.m., immediately notified the pump station division, and dispatched a crew to fix the disconnect and begin the cleanup. The pump was turned off by 9:00 a.m. this morning.
The City-Parish says it's currently making repairs to the pump station, which will soon be decommissioned as part of the City-Parish SSO Program.
Feet from the old station, off Conwood Avenue, is a brand new pump station that's under construction. The City-Parish says work is expected to wrap up by the end of August 2018.
The Department of Environmental Quality was called to the location Monday. It confirms the sewer line disconnected and was releasing wastewater. The City-Parish disinfected the area and applied deodorizers.