An unfortunate resident in Melbourne’s South-East has been forced to vacate his home after a burst sewage pipe flooded his property.
Michael Landry, 64, had long been an avid protester of blocked drains in Melbourne. But it would seem that fate was to have the last laugh, as Landry was woken up on early Sunday morning by a sewage pipe that had burst after being filled to capacity.
The pipe deposited several years’ worth of contents over Mr Landry’s front garden and front veranda, even leaking into the street beyond, forcing several of the street’s other residents to begin boarding up their homes.
“Blocked drains are something we can’t ignore, obviously,” says Mr Landry, who has described his situation as ‘heartbreaking’. “All those years I spent on that garden, and now it’s just gone. It’s time people wised up about what’s going on underneath their feet.”
Mr Landry is a lifelong member of SSRM, the Society for Sewer Repair in Melbourne, an organisation that attempts to raise awareness of drain blockage and proper methods of prevention.
Despite the unfortunate location of the sewage leak, Mr Landry insists that specific incidents are impossible to predict.
“It’s all underground,” he says. “All it takes is few years of chucking junk down the drain and you get this. There’s just no way I could’ve known.”
The local council has declined to comment, but residents of the street have pledged their allegiance to Mr Landry’s cause, no doubt due in part to the unpleasant odours now wafting through their windows.
“It’s devastating for the entire neighbourhood,” Mr Landry states, surveying the wasteland of sludge that used to be his garden. “I lost all my flowers and plants. But we all have to smell it. The council needs to get serious about their drain policies.”