First lawsuits related to May flooding filed against Frederick County

July 15--The first two lawsuits have been filed against Frederick County on behalf of homeowners whose properties were damaged by sewer backup during the flooding in May.

Allstate Insurance is seeking more than $40,000 on behalf of two homeowners whose houses flooded when drains backed up after heavy rain in May.

Fred Berney, who runs a media production company from his basement at his home in the Discovery development near Walkersville, estimates he lost more than $40,000 in equipment, furniture and damage. Berney is one of Allstate's clients on whose behalf the insurer is suing the county.

Heavy rainfall that started hitting Frederick County on May 15 did not directly flood Berney's house, he said. But around May 17, he noticed puddles of water in the basement floor and soaked carpet. Water had started flowing out from a drain in his basement.

"Water came right up the sewer drain," Berney said.

Berney had plugged the drain after a similar incident in 2000, when 5 inches of water collected in his basement, he said. This time, the water leaked up around the plug.

"The rug was soaked all the way through. A lot of water came in at a slow rate," Berney said. "If I hadn't had that plug, we would have had an honest-to-God flood down there. It helped, but it didn't prevent it."

Berney and his wife are among 500 households and 34 businesses that reported more than $20 million in damage after the May storms.

Residents reported structural damage of more than $12.5 million and property losses of about $3.4 million, according to county communications director Vivian Laxton. Businesses and nonprofits reported approximately $3.1 million in structural damage and $1.5 million in property loss.

The county's survey of storm damage did not specifically track damage due to sewer backup, Laxton said. But the county's insurance company is working with homeowners, particularly in the Clover Hill neighborhood, into whose homes sewer water flowed after rainwater overwhelmed the county's wastewater treatment plant.

Residents expressed their concerns about the sewer back flow at a public meeting with county representatives May 24, The Frederick News-Post reported. The county also worked with the federal Small Business Administration to set up a temporary disaster assistance center.

The Small Business Administration has been offering low-interest loans to homeowners, renters and others needing money to for post-flood repairs.

Berney and his wife, Ellen, run a media production from their home. Berney started the company in the 1950s and has accumulated thousands of dollars' worth of equipment.

In March, the Berneys received a letter from the county notifying them that work was scheduled to be conducted on a pump station near their house.

The goal of the project was to increase the capacity of the sewage pumping station to "prevent the possibility of flooding in basements of homes," the letter states.

When Berney's insurance company sent a cleaning crew through his basement, they threw away computers, printers, DVDs, audio recorders, and bookcases. Berney moved even more equipment, storage boxes, and other supplies to his upstairs living and dining room.

"We'll get though it," Berney said. "But we shouldn't have to deal with this."

Follow Cameron Dodd on Twitter: @CameronFNP.

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