Plumbers appear to dump sewer water in SJ street

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- Residents of a San Jose neighborhood are not happy about what they've seen on a home security video. It shows plumbers dumping what could be wastewater in their front yards. And the plumbing contractor is responding.

It's not what you expect to see when sewer work is being done in your neighborhood. Nancy Dean is pretty certain what was dumped in her front yard on Dellwood Way was sewer water. She says there appears to be toilet paper and other elements of sewage in her ivy.

"It's very disgusting. I don't want sewer water, raw sewer water dumped on my property, and i don't think anyone else would appreciate it either," said Dean.

Surveillance video shows one of the workers walking into the street, appearing to be a lookout to make sure no one is watching. Then the other worker dumps the pail onto Dean's property.

And the video shows it doesn't happen just once. About 20 minutes later, one of the workers takes another pail of liquid across the street where it appears he dumped more liquid there.

If it is sewage, it's against the state's health and safety code. There is also a municipal code.

We showed the video to neighbor Anthony Passarelli.

"There should have been another way to dispose of that sewage. Really not a good idea to dump it in their neighbor's yard," said Passarelli.

The corporate office of Mr. Rooter issued this comment:

"Without the opportunity to view the video footage, it is impossible for us to verify what is happening... However, we want to be clear that customer safety and satisfaction are our top priorities."

Pet owners are concerned for their animals' welfare. A woman who didn't want her face shown or name used said, "They like to smell. They like to sniff. They go by their nose, and they do like things that smell awful, unfortunately. "

The city of San Jose sent out an investigator to check that none of the liquid flowed into the storm drains.