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Affected homeowners can apply for $1,000 Region grant continued from pg. 1 virtually everything, including the furnace, hot water tank, furniture, luggage, electronics and more. The stench alone, he said, was enough to make him physically ill. The Oakville resident noted he wasn't the only one impacted with the foul substances also finding its way into an estimated 14 other homes on Hemmford and nearby Helmsley Avenue. As bad as Shannon's home was impacted, he said, he got off fairly easily, as some of his neighbours had finished basements. Another neighbour, whose home Shannon is sure has been affected, was on vacation as of Thursday and had yet to return. "It's disturbing, it has changed lives," said Shannon. "It's terrible." The Hemmford Drive resident puts the blame for this disaster squarely on the Region, noting other residents reported seeing a crew from the Region performing maintenance work on the sewer shortly prior to the sewage backup. The Region's Commissioner of Public Works Jim Harnum, who said 10 households have been impacted by sewage backup, disputed this allegation stating there are no records of Region crews doing any kind of work anywhere near that area in the recent past. He said crews responded to the scene after residents reported their sewers backing up. "Whenever we have more than one house backed up, we assume it was the mainline. Mainlines do backup over time. They get various things that block them and that can cause... backup," said Harnum. "That was the case. We brought a flusher truck out, we flushed the line and we released the blockage. Then we put a camera down the line and we found an excessive amount of gravel." Harnum said, at this point, he has no idea where the gravel came from, stating the Region had flushed these same pipes just three weeks prior as part of routine maintenance. He said the gravel was the source of the backup and is currently investigating where it came. He said it could indicate a broken pipe or damaged manhole cover in the area. Shannon rejects this explanation suggesting the Region's work crews were on the scene before any calls for help were placed. He was further angered when the Region offered the impacted residents $1,000 ExGratia Grant Applications. "You can imagine the uproar and anger with such a small sum being offered. It was a total slap in the face," said Shannon. "The restoration team is going to be at my house for over a week. Everything in the basement is being removed... the damage to my home alone is (far higher)." Shannon is calling upon the Region to fairly compensate the affected residents. Harnum said the Region acknowledges it was its sewer system that backed up and that is why the compassionate grant was offered to the affected residents. He said the $1,000 usually covers the deductible from the resident's home insurance. "It's not admitting fault because the Region has to be negligent to be at fault," said Harnum. "Under the Municipal Act, the Region isn't liable because our system can break at any time, no different than a (water) main break... If a homeowner's insurance doesn't cover all their damage, they can make a claim to the Region's insurance and then the Region's insurance will determine fault... If the Region's insurance deems we are liable then we'll pay it... We rely on our insurance company to determine that for us and decide whether we could have done anything differently." From what he has seen, Harnum doubts the Region would be found negligent because he says no Regional construction crews were in the area when the sewer backup occurred and the pipes were cleaned only weeks prior. he said. "The Region has just completely left us on our own," said Shannon. "The feeling of abandonment is just overwhelming." CONCRETE 7 | Wednesday, August 20, 2014 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com A restoration company employee works to remove damaged items from a Hemmford Drive home.|photo by Graham Paine ­ Oakville Beaver (Follow on Twitter @halton_photog) Shannon said home insurance will only cover a fraction of the damage costs and wants the Region to shoulder the burden. He said residents should also receive compensation for having to go through this experience and for the out-of-pocket costs incurred as a result. The father of two said his family was fortunate in that a restoration crew was able to come to his home immediately. As a result, his family did not have to leave their home for any length of time. Other residents, he said, have had to move into hotels while their homes are restored. 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