Sewage leaks can be dangerous, toxic, and damaging. Breathing in the fumes from sewage could cause you to contract a horrible disease, or your plants may die from the harsh chemicals. Just the smell of sewage is repulsive and can offend a neighbor when it won’t go away. The San Francisco Public Health Department says that sewage leaks are considered extremely flammable and poisonous, and cause a danger to the victim’s health and safety. If a smoker dropped his smoldering cigarette in a sewage puddle, it could ignite, and eventually send a neighborhood up in flames. If you discover or smell a sewage leak near your home, it is your duty to report this to the authorities as soon as possible. You may be able to protect your family and your neighbors by doing this.

If there are adverse effects from the sewage leak, or the party responsible doesn’t take care of the health hazard as they should, then you may even be able to sue because of their negligence. Before you head down the path to litigation, you will want to determine the address of the sewage leak. Is it coming from a neighbor’s home? A public park? A city drain? You will want to know this before you call the authorities so that they can pinpoint who is reasonable for the dangerous health hazard. You will want to remain outside the property line where the leak is located in order to avoid getting caught trespassing. This could have a direct impact on your future lawsuit, so it’s best to stay off the property line.

From where you can see, write down details about the leak. Can you smell it? Can you see it? Report the size of the leak and what properties are affected. You will then want to contact your local state health or environmental agency and relay the details. The officials at the office might ask you additional questions which you will need to answer so that they can take further action. You will want to note whether or not animals or children are at risk to being exposed to the dangerous lead. Talk about whether or not you have notified neighbors of the leak, or if the person who is responsible for the property is aware that the leak is there. If the party responsible is aware of the health hazard and has not made any attempts to fix the problem, then this is worth mentioning as well.

In addition to reporting the leak over the phone, you can fill out a complaint form which is provided by a state agency. Many times these are available online. You can e-mail your state environmental protection agency if you think that this would be more effective. You will want to repeat many of the details that you provided in your phone conversation. Check back with the agency a few days after sending in your complaint to make sure that they received it and are taking action. You will also want to contact the local authorities about the sewage and talk about who is affected. If the neighbors are neglecting to take care of the problem even though it is on their property, you will want to tell the police about this problem.

Do not attempt to clean up a sewage leak yourself, as the substances are often toxic. You should have a toxic substances crew come to do the work for you. If you are able to take photographs of the leak, this may help you to motivate the police and other state agencies to take action. If you have been harmed or your yard has been ruined because of the sewage, then you may want to start a real estate lawsuit against your neighbors. If your property was damaged or you had to take special care after the leak because it sent toxic fumes onto your property, then you may have the right to sue. If your trees and plants died because of the sewage that moved onto your lawn and into your garden, this may also be a legitimate reason for a lawsuit. These claims are often taken on a case by case basis, so you will want to talk to your local attorney. Talk to a real estate attorney near you to get more information about this sort of property damage lawsuit and to see whether or not you have a legitimate case!