Flooded northeast El Paso home tests positive for fecal matter

By: Stacey Welsh

EL PASO, Texas -- Tests show heavy rain left sewage behind in a Northeast El Paso home.

Nearly a foot of water flooded the Perez family's home on Blue Ridge Drive, one of the hardest hit areas.

Joe Perez was visiting his son and daughter-in-law in El Paso when the storm hit about a week ago. He said he took a sample of the flood water in their house and sent it to a lab to be tested when he returned home to Fort Worth.

He said the results showed high levels of fecal matter. He also said lab attendants at Talem, Inc. advised him no one should be living in the house after seeing those results.

"I don't want to live here because I have my daughter. She's crawling everywhere and there's the fact that all that bacteria was in here," northeast El Paso resident Blanca Perez said of the house.

Perez said her daughter is currently staying with grandparents to avoid health risks.

Servpro specializes in water restoration, and the owner of an El Paso Servpro franchise said that kind of damage could cost thousands of dollars to repair. Employees working on repairs also take precautions.

"They have to have the hepatitis shots and the tetanus shots. They have to wear personal protective equipment, including respirators and goggles," owner Malin Charnell said.

Charnell said in that situation, the homeowner could have to tear up the floor and about 2 feet of sheet rock.

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Flooded northeast El Paso home tests positive for fecal matter