The area down in the woods behind the houses on Route 426. The blackened ground shown in the photo is where the sewage from the house has run out into over many years. P-J photo by Sara Holthouse

FRENCH CREEK — If a person went for a walk in the woods near Route 426 in French Creek it would not take them long to find a large, blackened area, that appears at first look to be a swamp.

In reality, it is leftover run-off from human sewage.

A house on Route 426 has been without a septic system and has had a sewage violation for a number of years now. In a statement to The Post-Journal, the Chautauqua County Health Department said they are investigating the problem.

“The Chautauqua County Health Department has documented a sewage violation at this specific residence in Clymer, Town of French Creek,” said Michael Faulk, county chief medical officer and interim public health director. “There is no evidence of an immediate health hazard to the general public. County officials met earlier this week for discussion while continuing this investigation and are working with the occupants of the property to resolve the issue. The county Health Department is considering further enforcement options.”

In the meantime, neighbors are getting desperate for something to be done.

“It’s something that they have been trying to work on for two years,” said Matt Cywinski, who owns one of the neighboring houses. “Nothing has been done. I’ve lived here for 25 years. It used to be dry back there, and now it is all wet.”

Cywinski’s girlfriend, April Rager, who also lives with him in the house, said the last man who owned the property passed away in 2019. Part of the current problem is that the people who live in the house — and have for a number of years — do not own the house. The house is currently under the name of a trust, and part of the current process is to get it out of that trust and under the name of the people living there. Rager said the problem has only gotten worse.

“The health department hasn’t helped,” Rager said. “I think the house needs to be condemned. On rainy days especially, you can smell it. I’ve had to take my dog to the vet three times, because you know how dogs are, if they smell something like that they’re going to go dig at it. It has killed some of our chickens.”

Rager said another problem has been that the health department has been told that the current occupants of the house do not have a lot of money. Both Rager and Cywinski said it appears though that recently they have bought a newer vehicle. Rager added that this is not a problem they have been facing with just the current people in the house. It has been going on for much longer.

“The only time I have seen something like a septic system for that house was when the previous lady had a 55 gallon drum out there, and she passed away a while ago now,” Rager said. “That has been the only sewer system there in the past 10 years.”

It is part of the state law that in order to sell a house, the septic system has to be in working order. The leakage behind the neighboring house also makes it so that if Rager and Cywinski ever want to sell, they cannot either.

“In New York state, wells have to be treated,” Rager said. “Not that we ever want to sell, but if we do we can’t because of this issue. Why are we the ones that have to pay?”

Additionally, Rager said she has also reached out to local state politicians about the problem, looking for anything at all to be done.

“There are three people in that house and they all use the restroom multiple times a day,” Rager said. “All of that drains out and comes down onto our property and the neighbor’s property. Something needs to be done. This wouldn’t happen if we were in Jamestown. Sewage is sewage and soon it will become a biohazard. This has gone on for way too long.”

Rager and Cywinski’s neighbor, Debbie Albright, has also reached out to the health department multiple times about the issue. Her biggest problem is the same, in that the sewage has come onto her property.

“My biggest problem is that it comes onto my property,” Albright said. “It seeps into the neighboring property. It probably taints their water. No one does anything about it, and someone has to because it is illegal.”

Albright added that the house has working toilets and showers and everything, it just all seeps out into a big barrel and out onto the ground and neighboring properties.

“Somebody needs to do something and figure out a way to contain the sewage,” Albright said. “They wouldn’t let others do that.”