EVERETT — Raw sewage spewed from toilets and sewer drains in seven Rucker Hill neighborhood homes last weekend, marking the second sewer failure in Everett in one month.
The incident happened on Warren Avenue and Tulalip Drive near Forgotten Creek.
A contractor working on a $2.6 million sewer main replacement project failed to create a bypass, so the sewer line did not have a backup, said Tom Thetford, director of Everett Utilities.
Following heavy rain on Nov. 1, the lines clogged about 8 p.m. They clogged again about eight hours later
The contractor said the company’s insurance provider is investigating. Some residents, meanwhile, said they have moved out of their homes pending cleanup.
In a separate incident on Oct. 4, basements and crawlspaces in about 30 homes on Oakes and Lombard avenues in north Everett were flooded with raw sewage after heavy rains. The city has offered some residents help with cleanup costs.
Thetford said the exact cause of that failure has not been determined, but it appears something had blocked the sewer line before working its way loose.
City spokeswoman Kate Reardon said the city recommends that people with basements below street level install backwater valves, which allow sewer water to flow in only one direction.
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