Shondra Nauth says she has yet to receive justice after Toronto’s ombudsman issued a damning report on the city’s handling of a plumbing problem that has caused her basement to flood 18 times in the last eight years.
Nauth has been trying to get the city to correct the issue ever since. Along the way, various staff have denied the city’s responsibility and ignored her calls. She said she doesn’t trust the city to find a permanent fix any more.
Her lengthy plight, the result of a mistake in the way her piping was laid, has seen her paying thousands of dollars for each clean up, and her house still smells of mould and sewage.
“I am so angry, I could cry,” said Nauth.
The city eventually hired a contractor to install a holding tank. Nauth said the contractor caused damage to her home and the tank hasn’t put a stop to the sewage backups. She was told it would be a temporary fix, but more than two years have passed.
Nauth rented a house for a while to escape the situation, but it got too expensive, and she was forced to return to her house. She said she tried to sell her home, but she learned that she would only be able to recoup the value of the land.
“This is a nightmare I’m living,” said Nauth.
She has filed a lawsuit against the city and the contractor who installed the holding tank. She is seeking $400,000 for negligence and $100,000 in punitive damages.
In a recent report titled No Time to Waste, Toronto’s ombudsman found that there had been a failure of good administration, calling the city’s actions unjust and the delays unreasonable.
“My investigation showed inertia, incompetence and a complete failure on the part of many public servants to take responsibility for their work,” the report stated.
Coun. Mike Feldman has been working on Nauth’s situation for years now. He would like to see a permanent solution put in place immediately, as was called for in the report.
“She shouldn’t have to live this way,” said Coun. Feldman.
The flooding in his ward hasn’t been limited to Nauth’s home. He said it’s a bigger problem that goes back to the way North York’s piping was done.
Coun. Feldman estimated that he receives about 35 calls from constituents every time it rains. He said he would like to see the city address the issue at large.
Mario Crognale, the director of district operations for Toronto Water, said his department accepts the findings of the ombudsman’s report and is working to address its recommendations.