Driven out by sewage woes

The sanitary engineer says it would cost $4,000 at most to fix the pipe.
By IAN HILL
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
AUSTINTOWN -- Pete Pitzulo isn't sure where he and his family will live after Friday, but he's certain they have to board up and abandon their Bainbridge Street home.
If the family doesn't leave the home, its members risk further exposure to the thick black sewage that has repeatedly flooded out of their sinks, toilets and bathtub, Pitzulo said. The family said it has experienced health problems as result of the sewage and the mold that has grown in its wake.
Pitzulo's common-law wife, Pamela Minotti, said her ailments have included blood clots, joint problems and bacterial infections.
"I've got to get her out of here before she dies," Pitzulo said.
When it started
Minotti said sewage first flooded their yard in 2002, after a section of a pipe that connects the home to a main sewer line collapsed. The sidewalk and driveway over the collapsed pipe also caved in, she said.
The family removed its pool and several trees from the yard and installed a leach bed after the flood, Minotti said.
Then, last October, the sewage flooded out of the family's toilet and covered their kitchen floor, Minotti said.
"It blew up my toilet," she said. "I was on my hands and knees cleaning up black, raw sewage."
Sewage also flooded the house twice in December and once in January, Minotti said. After the sewage was cleaned up, the family found mold growing under the kitchen sink and in the cracks between floors and walls.
Pete Pitzulo Jr., Pitzulo and Minotti's 4-year-old son, has had tonsillitis, a bacterial infection and pneumonia since last July, Minotti said. She said at one time the boy weighed 34 pounds.
Sean Price, an indoor environmentalist from Cortland, said he performed tests in the home and found significant amounts of coliform bacteria, an organism found in human and animal waste. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Web site, microbes in coliform bacteria can cause diarrhea, cramps, nausea and headaches.
"Everybody in this house wakes up with diarrhea," Pitzulo noted.
"They shouldn't have any bacteria like that in the house," Price said. "It's in the carpet and walls, and it's some serious stuff."
Money spent
Pitzulo said the family has spent about $70,000 cleaning the house and repairing damage caused by the sewage. Insurance has paid for an additional $10,000 in repairs, Minotti said.
"No one should have to live this way. I pay a sewage bill to pump it away from my house, and it's coming into my house," she said.
Mahoning County Sanitary Engineer Joe Warino said county inspectors came to the home last year and determined that the section of the pipe connected to the main sewer line had collapsed. Since the pipe serves as a connection to a private home, however, it is up to the homeowner to repair the damage, Warino said.
He said inspectors would have told the homeowner that a plumber certified by the sanitary engineer's office could repair the pipe. The cost of the repairs would be $3,000 to $4,000 at most, Warino said.
Minotti, however, said the county inspector told her that "there's no problem here." A plumber hired by the family later told them that the pipe could be collapsed, she said.
The family said it has hired an attorney.
hill@vindy.com