A Foul Situation Spokane Valley Family Finally May Be Getting Relief From Oozing Septic System

A Spokane Valley family has pleaded for the past month to get its landlord or county health officials to stop raw sewage from spewing into the yard.

The family of nine lives with a busted septic system that oozes sewage from their front lawn onto Sargent Road in the Dishman Hills area.

The sewage creates pungent driveway puddles that leak downhill to the home of a pregnant woman who fears the stench threatens the health of her unborn child.

Al Sandham and Sandy Moram, who rent the home at 223 S. Sargent for $800 a month, suspect the sewage is causing the diarrhea suffered by their two youngest children.

Lu Estes, a Spokane registered nurse and family friend, said the home is unsafe. “It’s extremely offensive. That’s raw sewage in the yard.”

Estes said she told the family to call the Spokane County Health District and the landlord. They did, a month ago. The problem continued.

Contacted Thursday, landlord Emory Clark said he was shocked the sewage crisis was not fixed. He promised the problem would be resolved today.

“I don’t blame anyone out there for being concerned at this point,” Clark said, noting he thought the leak was fixed two weeks ago when he left town on a business trip. “I feel stupid the thing didn’t get done. … I tried my best to correct it. I thought I had.”

Clark’s tenants, and their neighbor, said they made at least seven calls to the county health district during the past month. Judy Kelly called too, after the sewage seeped onto her neighboring property.

“My cat’s been throwing up worms,” said Kelly, seven months pregnant. Kelly’s father recently tried to block the sewage, but the dirt dam burst during Tuesday afternoon’s rainstorm.

John Anicetti of the health district said the agency received its first complaint April 5. He said the situation dragged on because the agency tried to work with Clark, instead of cutting off water service and demanding the family leave.

“What assurances he has been giving us haven’t worked out,” Anicetti said.

The agency set a Wednesday deadline for fixing the problem, but did nothing when it passed. Anicetti said the woman working the case is off this week.

Clark said he already has acquired the permit to connect the house to the county sewer system. He also said a mix-up with a repairman prevented the connection from occurring two weeks ago.

Clark also said he dug a trench to try to improve drainage when first alerted about the problem. “I tried to take care of the problem in an emergency manner.”

The tenants tell a different story.

They describe an often-evasive landlord who hasn’t kept his maintenance promises. They say they only see him when he pulls up in his red Corvette to collect the rent.

The tenants claim snails and slugs sometimes live in the dishwasher, mice behind the stove, a frog in the garbage compartment. They said they used a bug bomb twice to kill the black widow spiders since moving in about 10 months ago.

During Tuesday’s rain, water leaked through some walls and the ceiling.

Clark said he was unaware of most of these problems and complaints, noting he spent $300 on roof repairs recently.

“I’ve been totally willing to work with Al and Sandy,” he said, noting he has resisted an urge to sell the house. “I don’t want to force them out of there. They need a place to stay.”