HEAVY rain that put pressure on the wastewater system at Teralba has left local homeowner Maree Brown in a stinky situation, as sewage from neighbouring houses flooded her downstairs unit and backyard.
Hunter Water won't take responsibility for the clean-up, and it's not the first time Ms Brown has had to go through her own insurance to deal with the mess.
"To think that the tenant who lives there is in hospital and I had to tell him he had nowhere to live because there is literally sewage drying on all of his items," she said.
"I'll have no income at all now, he's been there 14 years as a tenant and he has to go - it's not fair.
"It's always there in the back of your mind, it's sickening it really is, it leaves a pit in your stomach.
"I virtually haven't properly eaten for about a week since all of this has gone on because now I have to go through all of this again."
New developments around Ms Brown's home have put extra pressure on the sewer main, which overflows two doors up and runs through her and her neighbour's yard in extreme weather events.
Hunter Water has previously tried to fix the problem with a 300 kilogram cement lid, but it bubbled over in the latest floods.
A Hunter Water spokesman said the intensity and duration of the recent heavy rain put increased pressure on the wastewater system as excessive volumes of stormwater infiltrated the system.
"In Margaret Street, Teralba, our crews responded to customer notifications during the wet weather and attended addresses in the street on Tuesday 5 and Saturday 8 July," he said.
"Each time our crews attended they observed the manhole to have a minor overflow, bubbling through the lid's seal, and the lid at these times was affixed and in place.
"Previously we had installed a heavy, metal sewer lid to help minimise overflow from the manhole."
Crews disinfected around the sewer manhole lid and sprayed Ms Brown's backyard, but no-one has taken responsibility for the mess that's been left in her downstairs unit.
Ms Brown said it's about the eighth time she's had to deal with it, and has gotten sick trying to clean it up.
"It's in everything, the sewage water goes through everything," she said.
"I can't go through insurance, my insurance is through the roof - the problem isn't this house it's the infrastructure, it's just not adequate for the area."
When Ms Brown asked for help, she was told Hunter Water would deliver a care package - what was left on her doorstep was a pamphlet explaining circumstances where it may consider compensation.
