A Burnaby resident wants the city to compensate her for a $3,400 plumbing bill.
Loreli Schwartz has lived on Rumble Street for more than 40 years. The City of Burnaby has been upgrading her street – from Boundary Road to McKay Avenue – since last year, she tells the NOW. The work includes new water mains, storm and sanitary sewer systems.
During construction, Schwartz says she has experienced moments where “the whole house was shaking.” She says this has put pressure on her water line, which sprung a leak earlier this summer.
The city fixed it, Schwartz says, but two more leaks followed.
“It was so bad, it was like my whole lawn was floating. When I stepped on it, it’s sort of moving. I thought, ‘Oh, my gosh.’”
Someone from the city’s engineering department came by to inspect, according to Schwartz.
She was told her whole water line would have to be replaced, and that because it was on her side of the property line, she’d have to foot the bill.
“I felt this was unfair.”
Schwartz hired Marvel Plumbing and Drainage to complete the work, which came with a $1,995 price tag. Her plumbing invoice notes when the city replaced the Rumble Street water main, crews did not bleed her water main to ensure there was no pressure build-up in the pipes.
“This resulted in three water leaks on her side of the property,” reads the invoice.
Schwartz was charged an additional $1,250 for jackhammering. When Marvel was trying to hook up her new water line to the shut-off on the city’s side of the property line, crews found it impossible to do without having to jackhammer the asphalt.
“The city paved (the road) all the way to the property line. We called the project engineer. He said, ‘It’s not our responsibility,’” Schwartz explains. “All the houses down here, if they have any water problems, they have to do the same thing. They have to pay for the extra jack hammering.”
Schwartz notes the Marvel plumber who did the work felt this portion of the work should be carried out by the city, as it was the city’s contractors who did the paving.
As a senior citizen with limited finances, Schwartz says covering a $3,400 bill is tough.
“I’m retired, so I have to watch my pennies.”
The longtime Burnaby resident is hoping the city will pick up some of the bill, if not all of it.
“I realize it’s on my property, but what bothers me the most is the design they’ve done.”
James Lota, the city’s assistant director of engineering, says bleeding the waterlines is not something crews have to do.
“It’s not even necessary. We don’t increase the pressure. When we do anything, we don’t blow through a bunch of water that increases the pressure to your house. That doesn’t happen.”
Schwartz has really old piping, according to Lota.
“Since we had to turn off the water to replace the valve, when you turn it back on, sometimes old pipes will leak.
“Every time we replace water services to residents, we always give them a letter beforehand explaining that saying, ‘We’re going to be in there replacing your water service. Please note if your piping is over 20 or 30 years old, that this plumbing does tend to leak after we shut off the water and turn it back on, and that’s solely the responsibility of the homeowner to make sure your plumbing is in good working condition.’”
The City of Burnaby will not be compensating Schwartz, adds Lota.
