A North Wales family has been living upstairs for 18 months due to repeated sewage flooding in their home, causing distress and disruption.
Penrhyndeudraeth: A family has been stuck living upstairs for a year and a half because their home keeps getting flooded with sewage. It’s a real nightmare for them.
Every time it happens, dad Gavin has to carry his wife and little girl through the gross, murky water. Can you imagine? They’ve had to pack up all their furniture and just live in two bedrooms upstairs.
Gavin, who works as a forklift driver, says the house looks like a disaster zone. They haven’t even replaced the ruined carpets because they know another flood is just around the corner. It’s like living in a constant state of worry.
Gavin and his wife, Meinir, moved into their home in 2016, and they now have a four-year-old daughter named Gwenno. Their cottage is right across from the Eryr National Park Authority’s HQ, which makes this situation even more frustrating.
Things were fine until July 2023 when the first flood hit. They thought they had fixed the problem by diverting some water from a nearby field, but then it happened again in January 2024. Gavin woke up to find the house flooded once more.
Determined to get to the bottom of it, he heard strange noises one night and found water gushing from a drain cover. It’s been a tough ride since then, with three more floods hitting them hard.
Gavin can’t sleep whenever it rains, always listening for that dreaded sound of flooding. He has to carry his family to safety to keep them from getting contaminated. It’s just awful.
To deal with the mess, Gavin bought an industrial pump to get the water out. While they clean up, they stay at Meinir’s mom’s place, which is a half-hour drive away. It’s tough for Gavin, especially with his long work hours.
He sprays bleach around the house to get rid of the smell, but it’s a constant battle. He knows the dangers of contamination and works hard to keep his family safe, even though he knows it’ll probably happen again.
They’ve complained to Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water multiple times. After the last flood, specialists came to check things out. They offered to install a non-return flap and a warning alarm, but it feels like a band-aid on a bigger problem.
Dŵr Cymru told them to contact their insurance, but Gavin feels the compensation they received isn’t nearly enough to cover the damage. The house needs serious repairs, and with all the rain this winter, they’re worried about more floods.
“We can’t keep living like this,” Gavin said. It’s a tough situation, and they just want a safe home for their family.
