Raw sewage is spewing into some streets and homes in a community in Accokeek, Maryland.
The Signature Club built by Caruso Homes and Ryan Homes is brand new, but some homeowners there say they already regret their purchase.
Alyssa Credle has raw sewage seeping out of the driveway and in the basement of her newly built town home. She moved into the Signature Club in May and says the problem started two months ago.
“It was sewage,” she said. “It was fecal matter, urine, tissue paper, anything. Yes, inside of a home.”
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Her home was built by Ryan Homes.
“At first, when I called the company, there was a lot of runaround,” she said. “It was, ‘Oh, I don't think this is a problem for us. This sounds like a personal issue for you. You need to call a plumber.’ I’m like, ‘OK, no problem.’ I did that.
“My plumber comes out. He snakes out, like, 100 feet,” Credle said. “He said, ‘This problem is not on your property.’”
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Rocks were found in the sewer line, and other residents started having the same complaint.
“We don't even have WSSC, which is what most homes in PG County have,” Credle said. “They laid their own pipes with this private company, and they've been going back and forth, you know, placing the blame.”
The single-family homes at Signature Club are built by Caruso, the townhomes by Ryan. The land was developed by Signature 2016. There are subcontractors spread throughout, making accountability hard for all involved.
“They sent an email to us a few weeks ago asking us to limit our sewage usage until they fix the problem,” Credle said. “And it’s hard for me to understand. How can a whole family not use the bathroom?”
A spokesperson with Caruso said a line was ruptured during construction of other homes, impacting sewer pressure to fewer than a dozen of the new townhouses. Now that they've figured it out, the problem has reportedly been fixed as of Friday.
A sign now warns workers to avoid sewer lines.
It’s the second time Credle was told her problem was fixed.
“We haven’t even had a housewarming, because right now, my basement, you know, has huge fans and air purifiers running,” she said. “The carpet has been pulled up.”
The Signature Club is still constructing and selling new homes. When it's complete, it's expected to have 300 single-family and townhomes with a shopping center, as well.
A spokesperson for one of the builders said when the sewage issues began, they sent cleaning crews to clean the impacted homes.
