Residents say busted septic tank is spilling raw sewage into homes

WEST COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - People living in a West Columbia community are dealing with a very nasty problem. Residents tell WIS a busted septic tank is sending raw sewage into their homes.

Neveyan Dillard says she came home on Christmas Day to her home on Andrea Court in West Columbia to find raw sewage spilling from under her door.

She also found that several other neighbors were dealing with the same problem.

“I mean it’s completely unlivable,” said Dillard.

A maintenance issue that can’t be ignored.

“You’re probably going to need hazmat or some sort of protective equipment to go in. I mean there’s feces and urine everywhere,” Dillard told WIS.

Neveyan Dillard has been living in this home for three years, but never experienced a problem like this. Raw sewage splattered on the walls and the floor. Dillard says it started when the septic tank burst on Christmas Day.

She says, “It was sewage at first, running out of all our houses at the back and then something popped, and then like poop just starting coming out of the tubs, the kitchen sink, the toilet, just all over the house.”

Dillard says she immediately called her landlord.

“She told us to just move our things out and we know how to clean up. So, clean up,” Dillard recalled.

She says, “I’ve been living in my car with my daughter. I have to pack us up. My mom lives an hour away. I’ll drive and sleep on the couch with her. Reaching out to the landlord she just told me I need to move the furniture out well how and where am I going to take it.”

Constance Hutchins, another resident says, “You can’t take a shower; you can’t take a bath. I have to take a shower out of a hospital pan.”

Neither Dillard nor Hutchins knows where the septic tank is, but they were able to tell WIS it’s connected to four other homes on the block.

A spokesperson for Lexington County is calling this a civil matter and says it must be worked out between the landlord and the tenants.

WIS tried reaching out to Dillard’s landlord but found the number is disconnected. Residents say they last spoke to the landlord on Saturday.

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