City council approves $200,000 settlement for man after sewage floods home
A unanimous vote from Salem city councilors Monday will give a Salem man nearly $200,000 settlement after his home was flooded with several inches of sewage following a sewer back-up last December.
The back-up occurred on Dec. 26 and flooded the home of Elias Villegas at 740 Wildwind Dr. S.E., a part of the city where city officials said it was difficult to provide regular sewer maintenance, according to a staff report from City Attorney Dan Atchison.
Villegas will receive a total of $199,805 from the settlement, and court records showed no lawsuits filed against the city by Villegas.
In the report, Atchison said the city is responsible for maintaining the sewer main and that improvements are currently underway to prevent sewer back-ups like the one that flooded Villegas’ home from happening again.
The settlement comes as the city has had several high profile sewer back-ups and breaks in recent months, including the rupture of a 24-inch pipeline that carries wastewater from West Salem to the city’s Willow Lake Wastewater Treatment Plant in Keizer on Dec. 26.
A second pipeline used as a backup also failed the next day, prompting the city to urge West Salem residents not to flush toilets, launder clothes or wash dishes.
The council’s vote on the settlement came during what was otherwise a short council agenda.
Contact reporter Joe Siess: [email protected] or 503-335-7790.
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Joe Siess is a reporter for Salem Reporter. Joe joined Salem Reporter in 2024 and primarily covers city and county government but loves surprises. Joe previously reported for the Redmond Spokesman, the Bulletin in Bend, Klamath Falls Herald and News and the Malheur Enterprise. He was born in Independence, MO, where the Oregon Trail officially starts, and grew up in the Kansas City area.
