There are a few things we know for certain about two sewage backups in the finished basement of Charley and Joan Gattusos’ ranch-style house. It is on the 3500 block of Robyn Road, just off Colonial Avenue in Southwest Â鶹´«Ã½¹ÙÍø.
Charles Gattuso of Â鶹´«Ã½¹ÙÍø stands behind his father, Charley Gattuso, 94, and mother, Joan Gattuso, 92. The elderly couple’s home in Southwest Â鶹´«Ã½¹ÙÍø has suffered two sewage backups since February. And the cleanup/damage estimates total almost $30,000.
One: The first backup occurred Feb. 15 during 2.7 inches of rainfall that followed a 4-inch snowfall. The second was March 5, also in heavy rain — which can overload a sewage system.
Two: The first flood of human waste into the couple’s basement destroyed appliances, furniture, the bottom 4 feet of drywall and carpeting. The Gattusos have been married for 73 years and also lost scores of irreplaceable photos. (Charley is 94; Joan is 92.)
Three: The cleanup/disinfection wasn’t cheap. Remediation work from the two floods cost almost $8,000 — the second was less severe. That covered merely cleaning up the mess. An insurance adjuster estimated damage to the house and contents at just under $20,000. Among other items, the couple had to replace their clothes dryer and hot water heater and repair their washer. Those weren’t figured in the estimate.
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Four: The clog that caused both backups was not inside the Gattusos’ home, nor was it in the lateral line that connects their house to the sewer main under Robyn Road. (This detail is key. Under water authority policy, if a clog is in a home or its sewer lateral, the homeowner is on the hook for repairs.)
Five: After the second backup March 5, the water authority discovered the “clog†was a crushed sewer main about a block away, in the 3500 block of Wright Road. Like Robyn Road, Wright Road intersects with Colonial Avenue.
Now the chief question is, who should cover the Gattusos’ substantial damages? Those are closing in at almost $30,000. At this point, nobody’s accepting responsibility. But lots of finger-pointing is going on.
The Gattuso’s can’t afford it by themselves. So far, their son, Charles Gattuso, has covered remediation and some other costs. He estimated he’s paid about $15,000 out of his own pocket. He’s retired, too.
The couple’s homeowner’s insurer said it’s not on the hook because the Gattusos didn’t buy a flooded-basement rider when they bought their policy.
Next, they made a claim with the Western Virginia Water Authority.
The Western Virginia Water Authority said the installation of the above utility pole in 2021 damaged a sewer main in such a way that, this year, a nearby residence’s finished basement suffered sewage backups twice.
The water authority said it’s not responsible, either. The authority’ said its insurer, the Virginia Risk Sharing Association, said the backup was caused by a crushed sewer main that was damaged in 2021 by Verizon or its contractor during a utility-pole installation.
“It is the Authority’s understanding that in May 2021, Verizon had a contractor replace a utility pole located at 3583 Wright Road. Specifically, the auger used to drill the hole to place the pole in the ground damaged our sewer main,†said Sarah Baumgardner, a water authority spokeswoman.
“The Authority routinely pays claims associated with backups from its sewer mains, typically root or grease blockages, and has done so three times this calendar year alone,†she said. “In this case, the cause of the backup is the result of actions by a third party. We believe the Gattusos should pursue a claim against Verizon.â€
She also furnished photos of the pole in question and the crushed sewer main nearby it.
A crushed sewer main is shown underneath Wright Road, which is off Colonial Avenue in Â鶹´«Ã½¹ÙÍø. The Western Virginia Water Authority said a contractor for Verizon damaged the main while replacing a pole in 2021. The damage wasn’t noticed until two big rain events this year.
Baumgardner said it’s unclear why the damage to the sewer main went undetected since May 2021. It sounds like sewage could’ve been flowing into the ground there for years. I bet the residents are glad they’re on city water rather than wells.
“When sanitary sewer was not able to flow through the crushed pipe, it backed-up and conveyed through the closest outlet. Unfortunately, (the Gattuso’s house) is the first home upstream from the crushed pipe so it was the impacted home.â€
“The damaged line was discovered and repaired, and no other homes reported any issues,†Baumgardner said. The sewer main repairs cost the authority $12,000, she added.
Charles Gattuso also forwarded to me two communications to him from Michael McEvoy, executive director of the water authority. In the first, dated May 20, McEvoy wrote: “I have been reaching out to Verizon to see if they would be willing to reimburse both your family members and us for the damages their actions caused.â€
The second, on June 3, was McEvoy’s response to an inquiry by Gattuso about whether McEvoy had any updates about his parents’ claim.
McEvoy replied: “I contacted the Verizon representative this morning about our claim. No response yet.â€
I reached out to Verizon on Thursday afternoon. I emailed its media relations department a summary of the problem, noting that the water authority had diagnosed Verizon’s work in 2021 as the culprit.
I asked Verizon to respond by 2 p.m. Friday. When I received no reply at all by then, I reached out once again. This time, spokeswoman Diana Alvear responded. After a back-and-forth, she wrote:
“Was hoping to get an update for you today ahead of your story. However, it’s clear we need more time to respond as we are actively investigating this situation. As soon as I have an update for you, I will get in touch.â€
No problem, I replied. That simply means there’ll be two columns on the topic, rather than one.
Stay tuned.
