Residents blame NY DEP as flooding leads to sewage backup, damages

Inches of rain over the weekend saturated the tri-state area causing flooding and traffic snarls. 

From Newark, to Queens, to Brooklyn, a sudden springtime storm poured buckets of rain onto the tri-state area. Many people watched water spill into their homes, sopping up what they could with towels and mops. 

"My house had a flood, but not as bad as everyone else’s," said Beverly Holzer, a Bergen Beach resident. 

Bergen Beach might have gotten the worst of the weekend’s storms, with more than five inches coming down. 

"We haven’t had rain like this in a long time," said Jean Clifford, a Bergen Beach resident.

FILE - Still image taken from video showing sewage backup inside one NYC resident's home. (FOX 5 New York )

Like her neighbors, Bernhardt remembers the damage from Superstorm Sandy a decade ago, where basements filled with waist-high water. 

In 2019, the Department of Environmental Protection started a $62 million project to upgrade infrastructure, replace storm sewers with larger pipes and resolve street flooding in the area. It apparently is not working. It’s the first major rainfall since the improvements and Bernhardt’s home is covered in raw sewage. 

"The entire basement is destroyed," said Bernhardt. 

Feces covers the floor, the furniture, and irreplaceable personal items. It shot out suddenly from the toilet and didn’t stop. 

"You’re sitting in your home, and you hear a hissing sound, almost like a radiator sound," Bernhardt said. "And the hissing sound is them shutting off the pumps." 

Residents tell FOX 5 New York that the DEP shuts off the sewage valves during heavy rain to protect its infrastructure, sending sewage bubbling up from the streets and drains. 

But the DEP disagrees, telling FOX 5 that, "What we saw over the weekend is the result of climate change. We are experiencing heavier and more intense rainfall that can overwhelm the capacity of the sewer system…. The sewer system runs by gravity – there are no valves." 

"Emotionally. It’s exhausting. It’s not fair and it’s not healthy," Bernhardt said. "Somebody needs to be held accountable. There needs to be a better solution when there’s flooding."