Winnipeg homeowners say city not helping after cement backed up into basements

Six months after cement came through their sewer line, Kaitlin Bialek says her family still can't use their basement.

Months after a road construction mishap caused cement to come bubbling through a city sewer line and into their basements, homeowners on a north Winnipeg street say they’re still waiting for answers — and fighting for compensation — from the city.

Twelve homes on Semple Avenue were affected when a contractor hired by the city breached a combined sewer near the homes, causing grout to enter the sewer line, the city has previously said.

The breach happened May 29, and Kaitlin Bialek says her family still can’t use their basement, which ended up filled with four feet of cement.

“None of this has been resolved. The city has not agreed to pay for any of it, and we don’t feel that we should have had to use our home insurance,” Bialek told Global News this week.

“My message for the city is, it sucks. You know, you’ve left all these homeowners with this mess to clean up for themselves.”

While work on her basement is nearing completion, Bialek says the family has had to deal with dozens of construction workers coming in and out of their home for months, fixing the issues including a major repair to the home’s weeping tiles, which were left plugged with hardened cement.

She says the total bill for the work is in excess of $100,000 and the city hasn’t paid a dime.

Bialek says the repairs at her neighbours properties have ranged from $60,000 to nearly $200,000.