New Jersey community says undersized sewer causing big problems in basements of homes
COLONIA, N.J. -- Some residents in a New Jersey neighborhood say every time it rains their sewer backs up and moves into their basements.
The township blames it on an undersized sewer system, but locals say they have waited too long to have it repaired.
Heavy rainfall puts those who live in a quaint neighborhood in the Colonia section of Woodbridge on edge.
"Every time it rains, we worry about the basement flooding. I am usually down there, watching the sink. We have to make sure it doesn't come up and flood the basement," Matthew Cunha said.
Cunha showed CBS New York what his slop sink will start to look like if he doesn't get to it quickly.
"Raw sewerage comes up -- fecal material and fluids as well," he said.
CBS New York spoke to about a dozen residents on Ravine Drive and Stafford Road who said they've been dealing with the same issue for years.
Sumit Parbhakar just moved into the neighborhood.
"It smells really bad, actually," Parbhakar said.
Residents said they noticed the problem getting worse back in the fall of 2022, when they saw crews working on this manhole on Stafford Road.
"When we get a rain that's an inch or more these days, we have to shut the sewer down to our individual house," Mark Ross said.
Ross said the shutoff could mean no water for days, and with a sick mom at home, he said it's scary.
"She has cancer, dementia, and we are in probably the final times, and I am caring for her on my own with my wife," Ross said.
In a letter to about 20 residents, Woodbridge officials offered up bathroom facilities at the fire department.
A township spokesperson said investigations have been conducted on several streets and that, "The township Department of Public Works and Engineering Division has made application to the N.J. Department of Environmental Protection to address reconfiguration and/or replacement of the sanitary system. The township continues to work with the residents to address the concern."
"I understand the town has a project planned and we need that project to happen sooner than later," Ross said.
Residents like Ross said they've been told the undersized sanitary sewer system construction could take up to a year and that's just too long to wait.