Wastewater floods Burlington homes

The Burlington Water Department is trying to figure out what caused a combination of sewage and drinking water to flood four homes on Saturday morning.

The affected homes are on Roseade Parkway and Lopes Avenue. One resident, Robin Roberge, told WCAX News her family woke up to sewage spewing from their toilet. She said she was out of town and rushed back home as soon as she heard the news.

"Oh my gosh! I'm in New Hampshire and my kids are dealing with a dirty flooded basement. What do I do? who do I call?" Roberge recalled saying when she saw a video of her flooded basement.

Roberge said she eventually called Burlington Public Works, police, and fire crews. As she waited for help, she tried warning other people on her street that their basements may have flooded. Her neighbor, Dan Herman, said he was sleeping when Roberge sent the message and he didn’t see it until he woke up.

"I saw the phone call so I called her this morning around 7 and she said 'look at your basement,’ “Herman said. “I go down there and there's water and sludge in the basement."

Herman said he doesn’t know how much sewage flooded his house because he has a system that automatically drains water.

Roberge and Herman both called water damage professionals to clean up their houses. They said they don’t know how much it will cost them to repair everything.

Megan Moir, the Division Director of Water Resources, told WCAX News the department is not sure what exactly caused the flooding, but they believe a section of water main may have broken and sent water into the sewer system that backed up into people’s homes. Moir says she doesn’t know if the city is at fault. The department will continue gathering the facts on Monday. Until then, they are encouraging anyone with water damage to contact the water plant at (802) 863-4501.