Sewage still plagues Long Island home five weeks after Sandy
Dangerous and disgusting overflowing sewage water still plagues some residents in Long Island five weeks after superstorm Sandy swept the area, CBS New York affiliate WCBS-TV reports.
Larry Villegas of Bay Park is still waiting for the clean-up promised by the local government. He showed CBS reporter Carolyn Gusoff the raw sewage the spilled from toilets and bathtubs, as well as thick muck in the basement.
"Right now we're looking at the sewage and feces on the floor," he said.
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Villegas is just one of hundreds of people who are dealing with so much more than floodwater in the wake of a superstorm that plowed through the northeast in late October. There was also sewage overflow gushing onto his street, and backing up into his home, every day for 10 days.
"The smell was unbearable," Villegas said.
The sewage comes from the Nassau Country-operated Bay Park Sewage Treatment plant, which was crippled by the fierce wind and surge from the storm. They promised homeowners they would pay for the decontamination, but never gave a deadline.
Country-contracted crews tell WCBS they are working around the clock, gutting eight houses a day. Villegas, however, says his family is still waiting. He's most concerned about the health hazards.
"That's priority one -- get the cleanup done. Get the mold and the sewer water out of the house so I can start rebuilding my life."
Next door, an elderly couple decided not to wait for the county and paid a private contractor. Villegas said he can't afford to do the work privately.