[Lincolnparkdc] Need help fixing huge mess DC Water left us with

[Diana Quinn]

Roxanne - I am SO sorry that this happened to you. I had my pipes replaced
? last year , but they refilled the holes with dirt! And my hostas all grew
back (well, mostly).  What a shame for you, especially your lovely dogwood.
You might talk to a lawyer.

On Mon, Apr 29, 2024 at 5:40 PM Roxanne Walker <rw99dc at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi neighbors-
>
> We have an issue dating back to when DC Water was replacing lead pipes in
> the area with copper. After telling us they would only be digging a few
> inches away from the existing meter, t*hey dug a pit approximately 4x3x4
> feet. *This is half of our very small front garden. We lost many
> perennial plantings, most of which were 10-15 years old (hostas, lenten
> roses, anemones, ground cover, etc.).
>
> The hole was dug and work was completed on the day of the bomb cyclone --
> December 23, 2022. When we went to replant the perennials in the spring of
> 2023 we found (to our horror) that our 2-3 feet of improved soil and the
> clay that was below that had been taken away and *the hole was filled to
> the top with a concrete slurry mixture and gravel.*
>
> We contacted the contractor who sent a crew back to "fix" the issue. They
> scraped about six inches off the surface and filled it with what looked
> like concrete dust. One of the guys who came told me they use that material
> "so the hole settles evenly". When I pointed out that they had also taken
> out all the roots on one side of our 30-35 year old dogwood, and the tree
> could not grow into the concrete he said "they wouldn't have done that". We
> could not get them to return to excavate the hole and replace it with
> actual soil or even respond to further requests for help.
>
> A year and a half later, our poor dogwood appears to be dying and the pit
> remains filled with their junk. We have tried digging out the concrete
> gravel but realized after we filled one 5-gallon bucket we didn't know how
> to dispose of it. We got an estimate of $1,300 to dig out the pit and haul
> away the fill. That did not include filling the hole with soil. We can't
> afford that.
>
> If you've read this far, thanks, and here are our questions:
>
>    - Does anyone know of a process for DC Water or the city to get this
>    mess resolved?
>    - Can we get damages for the lost plants, our lost 48 cubic feet of
>    soil, the disposal of the fill, and, possibly, our dying dogwood tree? How?
>    - How do homeowners get rid of 48 cubic feet of gravel/concrete?
>
> We just want to enjoy our little garden again.
>
> Thanks for any suggestions.
> Roxanne, 14th and Mass SE
>
>
>
>
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