Sewage fills up South Bend man's basement during weekend storms

SOUTH BEND, Ind. --- A South Bend man said rain from over the weekend is uncovering city sewage issues, after having a pipe burst in his basement filling it with sewage.

Corey Taylor said he and his friends spent hours on Friday cleaning up sewage after having a drain line burst into his basement.

“It literally sounded like a waterfall,” said Sean Courneen, who lives at the home. “Toilet paper, paper towels, I found remnants of newspaper in my basement and some other things that I’m not going to comment on.”

Taylor said this is the third time this is happened. His pregnant wife and 13-month old son had to leave the house because Taylor said it’s too dangerous for them to stay in.

“I just feel like nothing’s going to be done about it, I feel like I’m going to have to go spend another $100 on cleaning materials and get my basement to where my wife and kid can come back,” he said.

Taylor said a city employee told him the drain lines are too small to carry both rain water and city sewage. He said his home is old and does not have a back flow valve that could be a solution to the problem, according to the city employee.

The City of South Bend declined to comment on Taylor’s situation.

“It’s sad, because every time it rains, we have to go running downstairs wondering if the sewage is going to come up,” said Courneen.

Taylor said he will be attending any meetings he has to, in order to address the problems with the sewers.