'Sewer smell in there is horrible': Saskatoon residents frustrated with city over basements repeatedly flooding

Residents living in the 3400 block of 11th Street W in Saskatoon whose basements have flooded say this isn’t the first time its happened.

Penny Fentiman has lived in her home since 1986 and had restoration crews come to her home twice. On Friday her basement flooded at 8:30 a.m. again at 11 p.m.

“I got up and I heard the toilets kind of gurgling so I went downstairs, and there was water coming out of both drains, one in the furnace room and one in the laundry room,” she told CTV News

“The sewer smell in there is horrible, it’s coming up through all the vents.”

Near-by-neighbour Ryan Doherty says his home is currently “uninhabitable”, with him, his wife, and three children currently living in a hotel.

“Damage that we have here this time is standing backwater in the basement. I came home yesterday morning to a geyser coming up through the floor drains,” Doherty said.

In an email CTV News on Friday, the City of Saskatoon Water and Waste Operations says the sewer blockage was cleared Friday morning and the sanitary main returned to “normal low flows.”

“The incident will be further investigated next week as part of the City’s normal follow-up procedure,” the city said in its statement.

The City is advising residents experiencing damage due to the sewer blockage to follow up with their insurance company. Then, if warranted, their “insurance company can then make a claim against the City on their behalf.”

For Fentiman, this is a road she’d rather not go down as her basement has been flooded twice already and blames it on poor infrastructure. She’s  had to make an insurance claim when her basement flooded in the past. 

“I’m 66-years-old and I still have to work because everything keeps going up,” said Fentiman.“This happened four years ago, and the City said they were going to take care of it but obviously they didn’t.”

Since purchasing his home in 2011, this is the third time Doherty’s been affected by sewer backup. He says the City of Saskatoon repeatedly told him concerns over infrastructure have been addressed.

“The house is becoming uninsurable. I had to negotiate and was faced with increased premiums as well as an increased deductible,” said Doherty. “I am very frustrated in the city’s inability to find a resolution to the problem.”

Doherty noted the City did pay for his deducible during the second instance of flooding he experienced.