Sewer flooding puts residents between a bureaucratic rock and a smelly place

One would be bad enough.

But some local families are having to wade both through raw sewage and the mess of municipal and state bureaucracy.

And its a foul situation all around.

Three Texas-side houses were flooded by 3 to 4 inches of raw sewage last week. The cause of the backup was likely grease buildup in the sewer system, which may have come from nearby restaurants.

The houses were, as one can imagine, a disaster and pose a possible health hazard from the raw waste until proper cleanup something that will cost quite a bit of money.

While the thought of something like this happening is bad enough, it gets worse.

At least one woman has found her homeowners insurance wont cover the damage because it was a general problem with the sewer and affected other houses on the block.

And neither the city nor Texarkana Water Utilities is legally responsible for damages.

You see, state law and the citys insurer, the Texas Municipal League, have stacked the odds in their favor and the city is immune from lawsuits over this and various other matters. TWU even says the law forbids them from paying any damages, even if they wanted to.

So this woman is up a noxious creek. Her insurer seems to have taken the position that its a city matter, and the city is protected from any recourse.

One wonders how an insurance company can deny a claim like this. They had no quibbles about accepting the premiums for incomplete protection. Surely they know the law protects the city in these cases.

And one would think the city and TWU would have to take care of this mess. After all, its their sewer system, right? Arent they responsible for keeping the pipes in proper order so this doesnt happen?

Apparently not. And TWUs director prefers not to think of it as the citys sewer system but rather the residents sewer system.

Come again?

Tell that to the people who make out monthly checks to TWU for the use of that sewer system. Tell that to the folks who have been annexed into the city over the years and forced to hook up to that system.

It seems the ones who make the rules and collect the money should be responsible for proper upkeep to make sure things dont go wrong and for damages when things do go wrong.

But thats not how things are done.

But we dont want to be too harsh on the powers that be at TWU. Apparently, their hands are tied by the state.

Something should be done to help these families whose lives have been turned upside down through no fault of their own.

But it seems nothing can be done. The homeowners insurance company is covering its own bottom line, and the laws are designed to protect the city and its insurer.

No one is there for the people.

And thats what really stinks.