Irma Lemus
CIVIC CENTER -- Basement offices in City Hall have reopened after a
sewage leak flooded the building's lower floor and caused $60,000 damage,
city officials said.
Sylvia Glazer, street and sanitation manager for the Burbank Public
Works Department, said a 20-person sanitation crew worked Thursday night
cleaning up the sewer water and stripping the carpet in basement offices
after the leak earlier that day. Floor tiles were removed this weekend,
she said. Several computers that were damaged will have to be replaced.
Mario Gagnon, Burbank fire battalion chief, said the leak was caused
by tree roots blocking sewer pipes underneath City Hall.
Gagnon said sewer water shot as high as five feet out of toilets and
spilled onto the basement floor for about an hour until the water main
was shut off.
Burbank Fire Department received the call at about 10:28 a.m. Thursday
morning and responded with 22 fire fighters to control the water flow,
said Gagnon.
He said a chlorine and water solution was used to mop up the mess.
The City Hall basement is the location of information systems, the
mail room, an employee lunch room and also houses city records. No
records were damaged by the flooding, Glazer said.
The tree roots that caused the sewer pipes to backup will be cut. Some
trees near the City Hall might have to be removed to prevent future
problems, Glazer said.
