BEAUMONT, Texas — A family near Beaumont are pleading to have their septic tank fixed after two years of it being broken.
The Lopez family lives off highway 90, just west of Beaumont. Their home was rebuilt with help from a general land office program after heavy flooding, but they were left with a lingering issue.
The family tells 12News that their septic system constantly overflows, ruing their backyard, and the contractors who built it won't help.
Property owner Edward Lopez is currently fighting colon cancer.
He says the faulty septic system has made his battle with cancer that much more difficult.
Lopez says the foul smell produced by the septic system is not just constrained to the yard, often times it leaks its way into the house as well since it lies just a few feat away from the AC unit.
"It sucks in everything from the outside. When I breathe, it's like an infection in my chest. I can feel it, my wife, she's sick, and she has lupus, I'm sure none of this is good for either one of us," said Lopez.
On top of the added health problems, Lopez says that the septic tank's constant overflow has caused a shift in his homes foundation.
"The back door it's separated on one side. They put caulk underneath it and they were just going to leave it like that," said Lopez.
The faulty sewer system is even negatively affecting the family dogs.
"The smallest dog, she has allergy problems, and she just had sores pop up on her," said Lopez "She breaks out like an allergy or whatever, and then the sores that appear on her seem to take longer and longer to heal. They used to clear up pretty fast, and now it's been going on probably four months, and I have to take her to the vet get shots."
Lopez says that inspectors have come out to the home at least five times since the problems first started.
However, the 500-gallon system passed inspection back in February. The G.L.O says evidence shows the system was "hydraulically overloaded" and simply needed to be pumped.
Lopez claims the system was broken from the beginning.
"They cut the water back several times. And then around June of 2023, cut the water back again. This time, instead of the leech field flooding, it started flooding at the tank, and they never would correct the problem," said Lopez.
Lopez says his family deserves what HARP promised.
"I just want a dry yard. You can't have a garden because it's sewage. You can't eat it, you know, you can't do anything in the yard," said Lopez. "I can't invite nobody here to cook barbecue or anything like that, especially in the summertime when the larva starts in that water from the mosquitoes. This place really stinks, really bad. I just want it fixed man."
The G.L.O gave a full response to Lopez's allegation to 12News:
First regarding the height of the septic control panel – Neither the builder nor the Homeowner Assistance Program (HAP) were initially contacted about the height of the septic tank control panel. The Jefferson County Environmental Control Department contacted the installer directly. The HAP team was notified of the issue and last week they worked with the builder to schedule a visit to the home today to adjust the control panel to be compliant with local ordinance. This issue had no impact on the functionality of the system and should be resolved today.
System Malfunctioning – As I mentioned on the phone, the federal funding is restricted to addressing the housing needs of the applicant’s household composition. Mr. Lopez’s household composition is 3 individuals and the Homeowner Assistance Program provided a 500 gallon aerobic septic system rated to support the water usage of 4 individuals. Qualified professionals from both the builder and the Jefferson County Environmental Control Department inspected the septic system on multiple occasions and confirmed that it was properly installed and sized appropriately for the household composition (see attached).
Professional inspectors confirmed the septic system is malfunctioning due to hydraulic overload/overuse and will need to be pumped in order to regain normal functionality. The Homeowner Assistance Program is not responsible for pumping the system. Overloading the system and ongoing maintenance is the responsibility of the homeowner.
Ongoing maintenance and issues caused by overloading the system are the responsibility of the homeowner. The Homeowner Assistance Program provided Mr. Lopez with a newly constructed, energy efficient, storm resilient home to meet the needs of the family composition at the time of the application. The septic system exceeds the size needed for the 3 individuals included in the household composition at the time of the application. It is the homeowner’s responsibility to pump the tank and restore it to regular functionality.
Thank you for reaching out to me regarding this issue. The GLO is proud to have rebuilt homes for nearly 1,200 Southeast Texas families. Should you have additional questions about this program or the construction of this home in particular, please feel free to reach out to me directly. Thank you so much.
-Brittany Eck, Director of Communications, Disaster Recovery, Texas General Land Office.