Sewage system causes a stink for residents

East Hampton, Conn. (WTNH) - Residents of one East Hampton neighborhood say something stinks and the smell is one they have become quite familiar with. Almost every year homeowners are spending thousands to fix the problem.

"There's nothing more stressful than seeing raw sewage spill into your basement and to smell the fumes," said Denise Sawyer, "and know you have a baby in the house."

Denise and Ed Saywer bought their home on Barton Hill Road in 2005 and within a year the sewage problems began.

They say it's because they have a two-horse power grinder pump as their sewage system.

"So, we're responsible for pushing our and the neighbors up the hill, so when one pump goes down, the others have to work harder," said Denise.

"The home next to us, their pump burned out," Ed said. "The house behind us, their pump burned out."

The next door neighbor tells News 8 they had to pay $3,000 for a new pump, plus another $1,000 for damage to their home.

The Sawyers say they've spent several thousand considering this is not the first time a crew has been visited their home.

"We pay taxes, a sewer bill, and we want to know what's going on," Ed said.

News 8 went to ask the Public Utilities Administrator, Vinny Susco, exactly what is going on. At first, he didn't want to talk.

"I'm not going to go down that road," Susco said.

Then, he did. Susco explained the only way the homes could've been built was with the two-horse power grinder pumps, which are mechanical devices and are bound to fail.

However, this happened to the Sawyers five times within the past six years.

"We've looked into this and every time it happens it seems to be something different," Susco said. "The property owner was made aware at the time of the closing."

"There was also supposedly a caveat filed at town hall explaining these grinder pumps and it wasn't in our file or any of the homes," Ed said.

The newly elected town council has agreed to meet with the Sawyers on Wednesday, but the couple says they're tired of meetings and want an answer to the problem.