jessica
i'm just the messenger. i don't want all this shit to be happening, either.
the toilet is swirling slowly again. the pump is also hyperactive. it's the same as before: the drains need to be cleared, and the basement is probably going to eventually flood if they're not. i first noticed the pump yesterday when i was doing laundry and the slow toilet swirl this morning, meaning something backed up over night but it's been building up for a while.
i'll just remind you that the last clog was deep enough in the line that it was probably on city property. so, i don't know if there's a process to get the city to clear the lines, or if they'll pay for it that way.
(pause)
i just want to update that "slow flush" is more like "no flush". the toilet is really not operable. it's taking something like ten minutes to drain - it' stuck.
i'm going to see what information i can find about the city clearing the lines, and then see if i can get paul to call the line cleaners. this is really kind of a must-clear-asap type blockage. nothing is actually flushing at all.
(pause)
i have contacted the city and they will send an
eel through for $95.00 - although they claim they won't charge you if
it's from tree branches.
what i actually think is
causing the blockage is a combination of trash that flowed in from the
street - coffee cups, tree branches, french fry containers, etc. if you
look at the sewers on this side of the street, they're a foot from the
top; if you look at the sewers on the other side of the street, you
can't even see the water. it's pretty clear that the block is on the
street...
so, i'm pushing back a little and trying to
figure out if there's a way to get the city to clear the sewers. i don't
think it's fair to force the bill on you, when you're clearing a public
line that benefits the entire neighbourhood, for the simple reason that i'm pro-active enough to push for an answer and the neighbour next door isn't.
if i don't get a response, or the response is negative, i suppose i'm waiting on permission from you or paul to call 311 back to get the eel in. the toilet does not work, and i can't be sitting with a bowl full of crap for an extended period.
(pause)
ok.
i've got the city coming to clear the sewers from the outside. i don't know when, yet.
they said up to ten business days, but that it's been flagged as emergency.
i'm comfortable waiting until tomorrow, but i don't think i can wait the weekend out.
(pause)
paul came down and plunged it and it seems like it cleared the immediate obstruction, but that doesn't make any sense, and i'm remaining skeptical. it almost seems like it was already cleared, somehow. i mean, i was gone all night last night - it was fine before i left, and it was fine when i came home and went to bed. it was even fine immediately when i woke up. but, the drain then got progressively worse over the day. that doesn't strike me as consistent with a local issue. it's almost more like something migrated into the pipes. an air bubble, even? but, whatever the cause, it is cleared - for now.
i'll say that i noticed something this morning in the bowl that was red and sort of bloody and seemed to be gurgling up. i made note of it because it was very bright red, and i wasn't sure what it was - it caught my eye. like it shouldn't have been there kind of thing. i had made some nachos when i got home last night, and thought it was probably just some salsa from a kleenex or something. but, i'm starting to wonder. the next flush is when it started to flush slowly - seemingly randomly.
there's other signs that there's still something funny. gurgling sounds. i'm glad the toilet works, but the service order for the cleaning in the outside sewer is still in progress and i'm not going to cancel it.
(pause)
lastly - and curiously - i went to throw something away a little after 17:00 and there was actually an enwin vehicle doing something to the manhole in the laneway next door. if they were clearing, that adds up.
i think it's all good.
the landlord
Jessica,
I spoke to Paul and he said no other toilets (4 toilets) where backed
up and the sewer, sinks etc have no sign of drainage problems. The
conclusion was that your toilet was clogged with toilet paper. Please make aware to Paul as soon as possible when an issue arises so it can be
handled quickly. Please do not rely on me reading my e-mails and please
make sure it is not just you plugging up the toilet. I do not know why you would call the city since it is only when all toilets and sewer are
backed up and then we would call a plumber with a snake to unplug to the
city sewer. After taking that measure; and if that did not solve an
issue with drainage, the next action would be, call the city. We would
have to determine that it would be necessary to call the city after a
thorough investigation. Please do not jump the gun and please do not
put excessive amounts of toilet paper down the toilet sewer drain.
Please deposit other uses of toilet paper to the garbage, such as
blowing your nose etc , Please only flush paper that you wipe your butt
with down the toilet. This is the wise way to make sure that a toilet
does not plug up the system.
jessica
i really don't think that's what happened. and, as i've mentioned, there is no known cause - i had not defecated in the toilet before it began to slow.
in fact, the sinks remain very slow and it's a matter of time before you'll need to come clear the line. i repeat: there remains evidence of a clog in the main line.
there was a truck outside clearing the sewers a little before he came down. the truth is that the toilet was already unclogged before he plunged it - and you could see that if you looked. i nearly asked him to flush first, but it would have been risky because there was the normal amount of water (which was actually clear) in the bowl.
you wouldn't expect the toilets on the first floor to slow down until the one in the basement has already overflowed. it backs up through the lowest point - that's me, and only me.
again: it's impossible that i clogged the toilet. it worked when i left. it was clogged when i came back. the only way that the toilet could have clogged is if somebody came in and used it when i was gone.
but, as mentioned, it wasn't clogged - a truck cleared the sewers from outside.
(pause)
but, to answer your question: why would i call the city?
because i do not think the clog is on your property; i think it's on city property. it's not your responsibility, as a property owner, to clear out the sewers on the street.
you should keep that link handy. the city clears for free. and, i do believe that that was and remains the solution.
you really should *not* call the plumber and waste $100 on a snake until you've called the city to clear the street sewers, which are the actual problem, for free.
(pause)
i've been running a vlog for the last few months. it's not really popular or anything, it's more just something to do. and, this was kind of a boring day because all i did was freak out about the toilet.
it was set to publish tonight at 12:30, but i've published it a few hours early to make the point.
if you watch the whole thing (15 minutes), you'll get a better handle of what happened (and there is actually footage of the truck at the end).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOSGGEm_9Kw
the landlord
Jessica,
I see the toilet is draining slow. I have seen this before and
sometimes something large may have fallen in the toilet and is jammed in
the toilet trap. Some times things fall in that are too large and get
jammed. We may have to pull the toilet and turn it upside down. In the
video when your where outside on the street, you where looking at the
storm sewer. That is where all the evesdroughs and surface water are
collected. The pipe from the toilets is connected to the Sanitary sewer
much deeper under the streets. This is a closed sewer that you can not
see. Google storm sewer vs sanitary sewer so you understand the
difference. I will get around asap to check your problem.
jessica
remember when we had this discussion last year or the year before and i contacted the city's engineering department and they explained that there's a combined sewer system in windsor, rather than separate sanitary lines?
the systems in this house are such that if we get a hurricane or something, it could very well backup. and, if the storm drains get blocked, it *is* going to affect the plumbing.
i do still think that's what actually happened and the truck outside was pushing through leaves and other debris. and, that kind of spring cleaning of the storm drains should probably be done on at least a yearly basis.
there's an interesting article here about sewage run-offs from storm drain overflows:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/brown-stuff-in-windsor-waterways-could-be-human-feces-city-says-1.2782594
the landlord
To
the best of my knowledge that is not possible for any city sewer system
to be connected into a storm sewer or vice versa by city engineering.
In fact if anyone connects storm to a sanitary sewer and are caught they
would be fined. Our storm sewer is not connected to the Sanitary and we
are in compliance. If illegal hookups are affecting our property from
back pressure or over taxed sanitary sewer, your toilet would be
overflowing with black shit all over the floor. Paul has cleared your
toilet and it is flowing good right now. Please contact Paul ASAP to see
the problem visually first hand if you think it is happening when there
is a heavy rain or just after. This way we can determine your toilets
condition and call the city to the condition if in fact city sanitary is
a backup condition. Please call Paul to deal with this condition and do
not send me e-mails, I cannot respond quickly.
jessica
this was the email i got from the city last year.
i really think that it's important that you understand the way the plumbing down here works, both for my own benefit and your own benefit.
the sewers in this area are over 100 years old. they were built before it became common to separate drain and sanitary sewers. as such, THERE IS A COMBINED SEWER SYSTEM ATTACHED TO THIS PROPERTY.
and, what that means is that the plumbing system is subject to effects from external conditions like blocked storm drains and heavy rains.
i have explained this in multiple ways. i mean, you can lead a horse to water, right? but, let's get this clear, please, for future concerns. because i will not behave as though the plumbing exists in a way that it doesn't simply because you refuse to listen to good evidence. and, if you refuse to accept the reality, i will have no choice but to take matters into my own hands when it is necessary and bypass you to get the work done.
this is the email from the city:
I would like to clear up a few points in your email.
While your landlord may be correct in that the house may be serviced by separate storm and sanitary connections (I can't confirm that), both these connections would outlet to the same combined sewer in the road. There is only one sewer Cataraqui and one on Marion, and they are both combined sewers meaning that they accept both rain water and sewage.
With respect to the Wyandotte project, there is no sewer work being undertaken as part of that project. Windsor Utilities is replacing the watermain and services and the City will reconstruct the pavement following that work. This project would have no impact on the sewers servicing your property.
You are most likely correct in that there is a correlation between rainfall and the slow running plumbing in your house. This is due to the combined nature of the sewer that services your property. During rain events, combined sewers fill with rainwater and therefore have limited capacity to accept flows from buildings.
With respect to the apartment building across the street from you, all rainfall runoff from this property would have entered the sewer system via foundation drains prior to the fire, so the fact that the basement may have flooded and the water is now entering the floor drain would change the drainage pattern very little. In fact, rainwater entering the sewers from this property would be very small in proportion to that coming from the catchbasins draining the roads in the area.
With respect to abandonment of the connections servicing the apartment building, that would be addressed when the building is demolished by the Building Department. If you have concerns regarding the state of the building, please contact the Building Department via 311.
Hopefully, this answers some of your questions. Please contact me if you want to discuss this matter further.
Sincerely;
------------. P.Eng.
A/Contracts Co-ordinator
the landlord
Jessica,
what does this have to do with our building and the fact that your
toilet does not overflow from the city backing up or a back due to
overtaxed sewer system from rain water. Is it your belief that your
toilet was plugged from a overtaxed or old city sewer? Please specify
clearly? Paul cleared your toilet with all the paper in it which could
not have come from anyone else but you as he tells me. Your toilet has
been cleared and ever since Paul has cleared it you have not reported to
Paul any other circumstance since he cleared it. No one can enter your
place except you and Paul. Feel free to call the City to keep the city
sewers cleared if this helps you. As far as your toilet getting plugged,
you have to look at the circumstance of one plugged situation and not
multiple problems as Paul or I understand. If you had multiple
situations please update Paul so he understands your concern with dates,
times, frequencies, etc. and any heavy rainfall occurring. Once we
document these situations we will have evidence that we can report to
the city. Heavy Rain falls must be the root cause to overtax the Illegal
over flows to the city sewer. You must first report to Paul ASAP so we
can assess the circumstance to have evidence of ongoing problems which
so far is not evident to us. So far there is no evidence that we have
documented of the city system backing up or causing your toilet to be
plugged or any of our toilets in the building to be affected. We have no
evidence of this so far. We will have to pay close attention and
document details from now on to build a case. You cannot wait for me to
look at e-mails to respond promptly to a situation when I do not read my
e-mails every day. Paul and you are the Key to the documentation.
Paul
can call and request the city to clear their system if that helps you
with peace of mind. So if that is what you are requesting then please
ask Paul to call the city to request a sewer servicing. Paul will read
this e-mail. You have the power to ask him to call and he can call the
city once he has an understanding of your concern. I will speak to Paul
also.
jessica
well, like i say, we don't really agree about what happened. you can see in the video that there wasn't initially anything substantial in the toilet (some urine, and a couple of pieces of toilet paper - that's not going to create a clog). i suppose we'll have to agree to disagree.
i apologize if i'm coming off as standoffish, it's just that a blocked mainline isn't something i want to play with, and if i think it's the city's lines then i'm going to call them as soon as i identify a problem in order to try and get them cleared outside. it's not just the rain. it's also the fact that people throw all kinds of garbage in the sewers. i don't want to sit around and argue about what the problem is. it's known that the lines in this area are very old and should really be replaced - it's just that it would cost a substantial sum for the city to do it.
as i mentioned, it wasn't just the toilet - the sinks were also draining slowly and sending through air bubbles when they drained. that's the classic sign of a blocked main. which, you wouldn't expect to back up upstairs because it's not the lowest point. you'd have to have a huge mess down here before it becomes an issue upstairs. on that level, i guess i'm the canary, right? i'm going to notice issues before anybody else does.
after the toilet cleared, the sinks were still draining slowly. so, it seemed like it was better but that more work was going to be necessary.
BUT, since then the issue has largely resolved itself. and, consistently, the sewers in the front have also come down about a meter. so, i'm left to conclude that the lines outside have drained and the issue went away with it.
so, i *don't* think anything requires any immediate attention.
but, i *do* think that it's going to remain a constant concern due to the infrastructure in the neighbourhood. and, rather than contact you and have a talk about this or that, i'm going to just jump to calling the city. because if the thing blows up while we're arguing about it....
when i was talking to the city, the impression i got was that they understand that the issue is structural and that periodic calls to get the lines cleared are actually expected. i mean, we can document it and send them a report, but you wouldn't be telling them anything they don't know. they know the lines need to be replaced. it's just, where do you get billions of dollars to do it? it's more cost effective to send out a truck to clear the lines when they get full of trash.
but, like i say - they've come down about a meter since then. we should expect that they'll clog again, eventually. but, they seem to be ok for now.
