PORTSMOUTH, Va. — A Portsmouth homeowner says he has spent much of his free time working in his yard after a 3.1 million-gallon sewage spill damaged his property, while he waits for the Hampton Roads Sanitation District to restore his lawn.
Noel McBride has lived on Douglas Avenue for four years.
Before a sewage main break spilled 3.1 million gallons of raw sewage on Aug. 4, McBride said he never had large amounts of water building up in his yard without draining.
Now, McBride said HRSD told him he needs to address drainage problems before the district can replace his grass.
He has been installing French drains himself.
“I'm looking forward to them picking up all these contaminated clumps of dirt,” McBride said.
He said the work has taken a toll on him.
“Exhausted would be probably one of the key words," McBride said. "I spent a lot of my time that would normally be free to me working on the stuff in my yard so that they can continue what they need to do.”
HRSD sent WTKR a statement saying it remains committed to restoring McBride’s front lawn.
“HRSD continues to work with the homeowner of 205 Douglas Avenue and remains fully committed to restoring the home’s front lawn which was affected by the August 4 force main failure on Douglas Avenue. The property’s pre-existing drainage problems, coupled with the repeated heavy rain events experienced recently in the region has hindered the ability to complete lawn restoration efforts without potentially causing further damage to the property with the heavy equipment needed to complete this work,” HRSD said in a statement.
McBride questioned why the district’s equipment could not be used in his yard.
“I have a 15-16,000 pound machine in the yard and it hasn't sank yet so I don't know why that prevented them from doing their problem when I've been able to use a machine in my yard,” McBride said.
McBride said he expects to finish installing the French drainage system Wednesday.
“It's been a lot. It definitely is something I think about before I go to sleep and sometimes when I wake up,” McBride said.
The ongoing work has also affected his ability to use his yard with his son.
“We have not been able to enjoy the yard or do any activities in the yard, whether it be in the front yard or the backyard,” McBride said.
McBride also said the work has created an odor problem.
“Throughout the weekend as I've been working, my neighbors have come up and they've mentioned to me that the smell is bad. They've mentioned to me that they feel as though HRSD should be the one that's doing a lot of the work here,” McBride said.
HRSD said in a second statement to WTKR it is working directly with McBride to determine when the lawn can be restored.
“The most efficient path to restoring the McBride’s property is for HRSD to continue working and communicating directly with them. An HRSD claims representative was able to reach the homeowner and Mr. McBride yesterday, and together, they are working on a timeline to complete the lawn restoration. HRSD remains fully committed to remediating and restoring the McBride’s lawn to pre-spill conditions,” HRSD said in a statement.
Click here to see how we use AI at WTKR News 3.
