Milwaukee tenant sees sewage backup in kitchen sink
By Emily Pofahl
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MILWAUKEE (WISN) — Jessie Brown, a tenant in a Milwaukee apartment near 30th and Wisconsin, says he has been dealing with sewage backing up into his kitchen sink since October.
City records show the building is owned by Berrada Properties. It is one block away from another Berrada Properties-owned building at 29th Street and Wisconsin Avenue that was emergency evacuated by the Department of Neighborhood Services last week due to no heat.
Brown said he often has to flush the sewage water from his kitchen sink down the toilet multiple times per day.
“You can smell it,” Brown said. “I get it drained down. Then maybe a couple hours later, I smell that same smell stronger.”
The persistent odor has been affecting Brown’s health.
“I felt bad. I got dizzy. Lightheaded. Almost fainted cause this whole room – this whole house – smelled nothing but sewage,” he said.
Brown said he submitted two maintenance requests and called the automated Berrada Properties maintenance line, but did not receive a response. Finally, earlier this month, he contacted DNS.
City records indicate that on Jan. 15, a city inspector ordered the landlord, Berrada Properties, to resolve the issue by Feb. 1 or face fines.
Brown hopes it doesn’t come to that.
“It makes me feel like I’m a piece of (expletive). They don’t care. They just want their money,” he said.
Berrada Properties’ attorney responded to WISN 12 News with a statement Wednesday night.
“When the tenant contacted Berrada Properties Management two days ago concerning an issue with a clogged sink drain, a crew was dispatched to the property. A snake was run through the drain, which was found to have been clogged with grease, and was cleared. When the crew left, the sink was functioning properly. When contacted today, a crew was again dispatched to the property and is on site now. Unfortunately, the line cannot be cleared with standard equipment. A company, with more powerful drain jetting equipment, is its way to the property and we expect the problem with the drain to be cleared this evening,” the statement read.
Brown confirmed that a crew had visited and stopped the sink backup.
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