Job of the Quarter (Q4 2019)

2/3/2020 (Permalink)

Flooding as low as this can still cause major damage to the walls surrounding it if not properly dealt with.

Baltimore was established in 1729, 47 years before the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It's an old city, in terms of the "new world."

Major advances in construction, engineering, and innovation have occurred in the last 291 years since the founding of the city. Sadly, the sewage system in Baltimore City has not made the necessary changes to get it to modern-day standards. An essay in www.cleanwateraction.org sums it up best:

“Baltimore City’s sewage system was designed with dozens of Sanitary Sewer Overflow Structures: intentional release valves that allowed sewage to overflow into streams, rather than streets or people’s basements. Although this was a best practice in the early 1900’s, using streams as open sewer pipes is a significant public health and environmental threat…”

“In 2002, Baltimore City finalized a Consent Decree… outlining how it would end the chronic sewage overflows into local streams that were fouling the Inner Harbor…”

“Between 2002 and 2016, Baltimore City completed half the work that was described in the Consent Decree - but backups of sewage into homes in Baltimore grew from a minor problem to a major hazard” According to an investigation by the Baltimore Sun, in 2004, the Department of Public Works responded to 622 sewage backups and by 2015, that number had hit nearly 5000.

 “When we closed those other 60 overflows that increased the number of basement backups that we saw in the city. Again, because the sewage has to go somewhere.” ~Department of Public Work’s General Counsel

At SERVPRO Metro Pittsburgh East, we see sewage backups quite regularly throughout the city and counties. At the beginning of November, we were honored to help multiple homeowners recover from a large sewage backup affecting the basements in all eight of their attached town row homes. We have decided to choose this job as our "Quarter Job" not only because of our speedy response to the completion timeline but also because it is a great example of our full-service capabilities.

The call came to our office early on Friday afternoon, and we had crews on-site within 30 minutes to start the sewage extraction from the basements of the row home. Because drywall wicks water as quickly as 1 inch per hour and sewage are classified as Category 3 water loss (water containing unsanitary agents, harmful bacteria and fungi, causing severe discomfort or sickness), it was necessary to cut drywall and remove 2' insulation to allow proper drying and sanitation. All contents in the basement affected by the sewage have been removed and disposed of. Even with a few appliances. We are proud to be the "one-stop solution shop" for all our customers ' problems. We have managed to replace the appliances for these homeowners and have continued to provide even more timely solutions.

Many people don't realize that SERVPRO of Metro Pittsburgh East not only mitigates your disaster, but we're going to put it all back together. "Like it never even happened," remember? That's exactly what we've done for the 8 row home basements affected by this mass sewage backup. Our mitigation teams finished and our rebuilding team moved in, replaced all the contaminated insulation, installed fresh drywall, and repainted the entire basement. Our team laid new carpets, tile floors, installed new kitchen cabinets, bathroom vanities, and tiled backsplashes in the kitchen. New doors and trim work were installed and painted and appliances were installed. All these times 8 homeowners and completed in a matter of 35 days.

Our team members have certainly signed up for a dirty, messy and labor-intensive job. But the pride they take in making people's lives come back together quickly and efficiently could not be greater. This is what we all love to do at Team Wall's SERVPRO Disaster Recovery Team... we love being your "One Stop Solution Shop!"