Water gushed out of toilets and drains for about 45 minutes on March 26, flooding basements with several inches of water, report numerous residents living near the Stevenson Street reconstruction project, just south of Eramosa Road.
“My (10-year-old) daughter woke us up yelling … because she thought somebody had broken into the house because things were floating through her room,” said Jessica Stiller, who lives in a Lane Street basement apartment. “We got out of bed and stepped down – our feet were all in sewer water.”
Several residents of the area told GuelphToday the flooding began at about 5 a.m. and lasted for roughly 45 minutes, then stopped and the water began to recede, leaving behind a black residue.
Opinions varied about whether the black content was sewage or soil, with some people stating the water had a “poopy” odour and others insisting it didn’t, however GuelphToday was shown video of water flowing up from a toilet.
People reported their furnaces, water heaters and other appliances were ruined, as well as furniture, floor coverings and personal belongings.
“They took everything out of the basement,” said Lane Street resident Cindy Turner of her insurance company. “They’re supposed to let us know if there’s anything salvageable.”
More than a week after it happened, everyone GuelphToday spoke with was still working with their insurance company to determine the dollar value of damage, but initial estimates ranged from a couple thousand dollars to upwards of $70,000.
Some said they have caps on the amount of money their insurance company will pay out for the issue and everyone reported having to pay a deductible.
“It was horrendous,” said Kristina Czernicki of Stanley Street, who was asleep in her basement when she was woken by the sound of gurgling coming from her toilet. “I looked in my toilet bowl and it was a fountain of shit coming up.”
For the Stiller family, the situation forced them from their home and they’re unlikely to be able to return for at least a month as damage is repaired. Not only that, they run a small photography business and some of their gear was destroyed.
“We’ve already had to start borrowing cameras for shoots that we have coming up,” she said. “If the (insurance) money doesn’t come through, I don’t have $10,000 sitting around to repair our gear.
“It’s just been very crazy and obviously upsetting.”
The night of March 25 into March 26, Environment Canada shows Guelph received 25 mm of rain, most of which fell between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m.
“We speculate it had something to do with the construction,” Stiller said of the cause, echoing comments offered by each of the individuals GuelphToday spoke with. “There’s somebody to blame ... This shouldn’t have happened.”
With staff off for the holiday on Monday, attempts to reach city officials for comment were unsuccessful.
“This house has been here for 60 years and we’ve never had water in the basement before,” commented Morgan McDermott of Lane Street, noting the house has been in her family for that length of time. “We were really shocked that we actually had water (in the basement).”
She said they’d just redone the laundry room and a bathroom, with the floors now “ripped out” and about 12 inches of drywall removed along the floor.
“It’s just a huge mess,” she said.
