Jefferson Terrace family deals with raw sewage

CBS Atlanta spotlighted a Jefferson Terrace home facing raw sewage in their bathtub and toilet. (See the video: http://www.cbsatlanta.com/video/21308586/)

It was a two-day story on Wednesday and Thursday highlighting what the report suggests was a slow response by the city.

Here's the transcript of the Thursday, Oct 16, news item:

EAST POINT, Ga. -- CBS Atlanta News learned that the city of East Point has hired a contractor to clean up the raw sewage, which is backing up inside a home on Jefferson Terrace.
"Those are deplorable conditions at least at this point," said Fulton County Environmental Specialist James Webb. Webb reassessed the sewage problem inside the home of Calvin and Marion Arnold on Wednesday and determined that the health risk has gotten worse.  There was more raw sewage in the bathtub and it continued to leak into the basement. "We poured the chlorine bleach into the bathtub as well as into the commode to make sure the household is being minimized from the amount of pathogens they're being exposed to," said Webb. CBS Atlanta has repeatedly asked the city of East Point to address the situation on camera, but they denied every request until we tracked down the mayor."I was just recently made aware of this situation. As soon as I found out about it I went ahead and called the city manager to make sure we get this taken care of," said East Point Mayor Joseph Macon. City officials told CBS Atlanta that they do plan to repair the sewer line break on Jefferson Terrace, but they wouldn't say when they will fix the problem. In the meantime, the Fulton County Environmental Health Department is working to help the Arnold family."We're going to make contact with East Point to work together to make sure we take care of these residents," said Webb.

 On Thursday, Council member Lance Rhodes sent out this press release:

Hi All

I wanted to provide you with the details of the following sewer issue and media coverage about Jefferson Terrace:

• Mr. Jones (City Manager) spoke with the owner of the property on Jefferson Terrace, and apprised her that we had sent our cleanup vendor on two occasions to clean her house.  She stated that because she didn't know who they were, she did not let them in;
• With her consent we have arranged for our vendor, Firestar, to return to her home at 6PM today to initiate the cleaning.  To make her comfortable, we have arranged for an EP police officer to be onsite when the vendor arrives and escort them into the property. Police will then depart. She indicated this would be fine with her. She is not presently experiencing any sewerage backup.
• We spoke with John Gormerly of the Fulton County Health Department regarding the situation.  There have been media (Channel 46) reports that the health department was preparing to take action against the City.  Mr. Gomerly advised that this had never been the case and they never indicated that to the media.  Per County procedure, they conducted an assessment of the situation and the result was that they do nothing, as it is an East Point matter that the City has under control. 
• Due to the collapse of the system, we have bypassed the sewer at this location and we are pumping to an alternate sewer location. The weather situation is delaying a permanent fix because of improper working conditions (saturation of the ground prevents trenching) Our contractor is poised to implement final repair as soon as the weather allows.  The County is satisfied that we are taking appropriate measures.
• There are no EPD concerns as East Point is taking the proper action.
• While the pump is causing a disturbance, there is no other adverse effect on the environment. 

This repair is a priority and will be completed as soon as it is safe to make the repair.

 Besides being an icky situation, the issue is the city's response and I am left with these questions:

• When the homeowner didn't let the vendors in the first time, did anyone call the women and explain? Did someone from the public utilities department check in on the woman and notice no work was being done?
• When the reporter went to City Hall, did any one from the city step up and take responsibility to explain the city's actions? It would have been a different story if they had. 
• Was the city aware of this situation before Wednesday? Was action taken to help the person before the TV camera appeared?
  

In the future, if you see sewage in your house, the City's online site suggests:

What should a customer do when a sewage backup occurs in the home/yard, etc.?

If you experience a sewage backup, you should contact our Service Request -Customer Service Center for assistance at (404) 270-7097.

Still need help?

We are here to help…………………Service Request - Customer Service Center at (404) 270-7097