Town wants school to pay for sewer backup

As published in The Erin Advocate

The Town of Erin will seek compensation from the school board for a sewage backup that flooded Station Road Nursery School (SRNS) on February 4.

Students were evacuated when foul water came up through the floor drains of the nursery school, which rents space from the Town at Centre 2000. Sewage the from the complex drains through the school to a treatment plant operated by the Upper Grand District School Board (UGDSB), with financial support from the Town of Erin.

Facility Manager Graham Smith told council that UGDSB plumbers worked until 1:30 am, and while they found diapers and other items in the drains, filling several garbage bags, they could not restore the flow. The next day the sewage plant and water system were shut down and portable toilets were brought in for the high school.

Eventually, an eight-inch rubber plug was found in the school section of the drains, which  Smith said may have been left in there at some time when there was service to the system or work on sewage metres.

The nursery school lost revenues, toys, carpets, food and some cabinets. It was shut down by the Health Board until the problem was resolved and the area sanitized, including removal of base moulding and application of an anti-microbial agent.