Big stink over sewer spill

WEST JORDAN — When West Jordan resident Ben Chapman's basement flooded with sewage recently, he thought it was a typical sewer line break. So, he hired someone to fix it.

But while the break was normal, crews discovered something unexpected when they dug into the ground.

Chapman's house — about 1500 West and 8600 South — had a line that was funneling untreated sewage into the Jordan River since the home was built 21 years ago.

Turns out, the builder connected the sewage line from Chapman's house to an underground main meant to drain off excess groundwater, he was told by city officials. It had gone unnoticed all these years.

Now, Chapman wants the city to repay him the approximately $10,000 he said it cost him to make the repairs and correct the problem.

"I've been paying all these sewer bills all this time and not getting any service, and also the Jordan River's been getting polluted," he said.

And it turns out he's not the only one with the problem. After the problem was detected at Chapman's house, city engineers used dye to test the sewer connections of other homes in the neighborhood. They found four other houses in the same circumstance — houses that will continue to route raw sewage into the river until the question of responsibility is answered.

Chapman said he has worked with several different city officials, always being redirected to someone else, and he is frustrated that they all seem to be saying the same thing: The problem is yours, and you have to fix it yourself.

"I seriously could not believe the complete apathy," he said.

But when City Councilman Lyle Summers heard about the issue, he decided to put it on the agenda for Tuesday's council meeting. While Summers personally believes the responsibility should be on the homeowners, he also believes the council should decide what role, if any, the city will play.

City Manager Gary Luebbers said he has had the city's staff working on trying to find out what happened, looking for city inspection records and contractors' names and whatever else they can find.

"They have no records from back then, so we have no idea who did what," he said, calling it "unlikely but possible" that the contractor will be found.

And while the council could decide that the city will pay for the repairs, Luebbers said the city attorney has told them they don't have to.

"Although it's unfortunate, legally it's not the city's problem," Luebbers said. "In any event it's going to have to be fixed one way or the other."

The city had planned to send a letter to the affected residents telling them they had 45 days to fix the problem, but since it has been put on the council agenda, the city has decided to wait to see what the council decides.