The walls in Robert Smith s basement on Danbury Street SW show the damage caused by nearly 20 years of raw sewage flooding his condominium. That s because the sewer lines under the building, which was converted to condominiums with the help of D.C. tax dollars in 1981, were never hooked up to the city s sewer lines. So anytime someone flushes a toilet or takes a shower at the condo complex, the human waste is absorbed into the soil under and around the buildings often creating visible pools of sewage in the 33 homeowners basements before getting there. The problem is not a new one. Womack has armed the residents with abundant evidence of the problem including laboratory tests that show the drinking water being delivered to the complex through sewage-soaked ground is contaminated.
Residents attribute some of their health problems to the living conditions.
And the homeowners association has already invested thousands of dollars in digging to repair broken sewer lines and to uncover the spot where the city-financed builder failed to connect the interior sewer pipes to the city s main line. City officials have been unable to identify the builder for Womack and also were unable to do so for The Common Denominator . I m getting almost as tired as the residents are of fighting city hall. Smith said he s heard it all before. Everybody I talk to says it s gonna be fixed since 1982 and here it is 2000.