A father of three says he has been left without a front doorway for over a year after his floor collapsed due to water damage from a faulty sewage pipe. James Johnstone, 57, from Denton, claims the issue stems from an unused pipe that has been funnelling waste water into his home for 26 years.
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, Mr Johnstone said his hallway caved in during October last year, leaving him unable to welcome guests through his front door. He believes an abandoned underground pipe behind his home is the source of the flooding that has blighted his property since around 2000.
Dispute over the cause
United Utilities, however, say wastewater from their system has not entered Mr Johnstone's home. A spokesperson said the water is instead 'ground water' linked to historical problems with his property.
The company said: “We have supported Mr Johnstone by carrying out extensive investigations, at his and neighbouring properties. None of these have identified any issues with United Utilities’ assets. Testing of the water demonstrated that this is ground water rather than wastewater from our network.”
Claims of reconnection
Mr Johnstone, who moved into the home in 1996, says he has approached United Utilities several times over the situation. He claims multiple engineers have carried out work on the system near his home, but nothing has addressed the main issue.
He alleges United Utilities reconnected an abandoned public sewer with the current functioning one via a pipe near his neighbour’s home. The company says the pipe he refers to has been removed.
“They showed me them smashing it out,” he said. “I left and when I came back, they reconnected me to it so I've still got sewage pi**ing into my house.”
Ongoing ordeal
Mr Johnstone says he has carried out his own experiments, pouring dyed water into manholes close to his home and finding the coloured water made its way to his house. He told the MEN: “I've had 26 years of hell... It's two public sewers. One is an abandoned public sewer and one's an in-use public sewer and they're both connected with a piece of pipe.”
He described dealing with pungent smells, constant flooding and, most recently, his floor collapsing. “I don't have people around my house, I don't like them coming in because of the smell. I think there's a smell. United Utilities keep saying its ground water, but it's not. They know if they fix the pipe which they should have done, my problem is going to stop.”
