Bethel Park resident cleaning up after water main break floods basement, garage
BETHEL PARK, Pa. (KDKA) -- A homeowner in the South Hills is cleaning up after a water main break flooded out his garage and basement, with water running down his hill and leaving a path of destruction.
What looks like a harmless patch of dirt caused a whole mess on Sunday morning. Justin Lemley got a call from his neighbor that the water line outside his home along Logan Road in Bethel Park was busted. He got to the house to find water gushing down the hillside.
"And just rolling into the truck, rolling into the car, and rolling into the house," Lemley said.
It tore up his hillside, retaining wall, driveway, garage, and basement.
"There's no way you can stop it. No way you can turn that much water away," Lemley said while cleaning the garage.
More than two feet of water entered the garage, and about four inches flooded the basement. At this point, the extent of the damage is not quite known. Lemley and some coworkers took the week off to begin the cleanup effort.
"I could name a million things that are hundreds of dollars to replace," Lemley said.
Lemley's mother lives upstairs, so he wants to get as much done quickly as possible. He said Pennsylvania American Water has been willing to work with him and pay for the damages.
"It's just so much work. It's good to know they are going to replace it, but it's so much work," Lemley said as he looked at the damage.
Pennsylvania American Water said they are working with 10 homeowners who suffered damage. Their insurer is working with claims that go beyond restoration work.
Through it all, Lemley is trying to stay positive.
"Can't solve problems when you're upset. You can't get to the solution that way. I try to keep a level head," Lemley said.
Lemley didn't have a hard number but estimates all the damage will cost anywhere from $150,000 to $200,000 to fix.
