Youngstown woman gets no help after sewage backs up as Christmas guests to arrive

YOUNGSTOWN

Youngstown woman Ruth Burley isn’t celebrating the Christmas she had planned after her home on Forestview Drive became flooded with sewage Friday.

“I don’t know what to do. I have company coming from out of town,” Burley told The Vindicator’s broadcast partner, 21 WFMJ-TV.

The city came out to look at the problem, and a supervisor told WFMJ that sediment builds up, causing backups in that area because fewer people live there.

The home will now be added to a list of “trouble spots” in the city, meaning once every three months or so the lines will be flushed.

But Burley says this isn’t the first time this has happened.

The owner of the home, Lisa Jackson, said an earlier flood left feces and sewer water in the home, and the city said it isn’t responsible.

“So I called today and I said this time they need to be made responsible. I want to know when the last time that drain was cleaned.”