Residents say sewage poured into homes during Statesville drainage project

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - A Statesville man contacted WBTV after he said gallons of sewage flooded into his home.

Robert Germain had just spent hundreds of thousands of dollars renovating his home, and now he’s waiting to learn how much damage was caused by this.

His home is empty, with the baseboards ripped off the walls and the smell of sewage in the air, just two months after he completed renovations.

“The water came in through the floor drains,” Germain said.

He added that sewage water spread out across the main rooms and bathrooms.

“They’re going to pull all the flooring up and this is probably not going to be able to be saved,” German said.

After a year and a half of renovations, Germain is worried he’ll be starting from square one.

“They’re digging up the street and putting up a new flood water management system and they hit a water line,” he said.

Germain said he granted the city an easement to do the work and never expected it would lead to this.

“The water flows down that way to a pump station at the bottom of the property,” he said. “It overflowed it, overwhelmed it.”

At least one other homeowner told WBTV the same thing happened at their house. Other neighbors said they lost water pressure.

Germain said he is confident in his insurance, but he would like the city to take accountability.

“They should stand behind their work, and if they’ve made a mistake, admit it and pay for it,” he said. “It’s that simple.”

WBTV reached out to the City of Statesville and a spokesperson released the following statement:

WBTV asked the spokesperson whether the city would bear any responsibility as the entity that hired the contractor. but they said, “When a contractor accepts a job with the City, they must carry insurance and are liable for any damages caused.”

The spokesperson said the city connected Germain with the contractor to discuss the issue.

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