Mystery leak that forced Scarborough family from home spreads as city continues to investigate

A mystery leak that's forced a Scarborough family from their home for the past month appears to be spreading. 

Linda Mangalathu, her husband and two children discovered the flood in late April, but plumbers were unable to solve the problem, which grew for several days until the family was forced to move in with nearby relatives.

Now, her next door neighbours, Bailey Panesar and his wife, report they too were flooded out by ankle deep water in their basement on May 24. 

"I was bringing up 20 or 30 buckets of water, running up and down the stairs," Panesar told CBC Toronto of the night his basement flooded. "Nothing helped."

Across the street, a third homeowner on Shadowood Court, in the Highway 401 and Morningside Avenue area, said she began experiencing smelly, murky tap water just this week.

"I'm nervous," Elenita Sarcilla told CBC Toronto.

She said she's worried about what could become of her home after what happened to neighbour Mangalathu's property, which is still marred by a large and growing excavation in the middle of her front yard. That has now been expanded by contractors to include about a third of Panesar's driveway.

City media relations manager Russell Baker said in an email that city crews are busy shoring up the pit in Managalathu's front yard, while trying to pin down a break in the storm sewer line that connects Mangathalu's house to the municipal sewer system.

That clogged storm sewer pipe was discovered at the beginning of May, but contractors have told CBC Toronto there have been problems discovering exactly where the break is. Besides, they've said, there's no guarantee that the broken pipe is causing the flooding.

City engineers are trying to determine the best way to find and repair the break in the pipe safely, says Baker.

"Once the City's work on the utility infrastructure is complete, the City will complete restoration of the City's lands adjacent to the homeowner's property," Baker's email reads. 

As for the source of the water, Baker's email says it "appears to be groundwater."

"It is the responsibility of the property owner to investigate and address any issues on the private side of the property," the email continues.

Mangalathu told CBC Toronto this week that the problems have so far cost her about $50,000 and she expects that bill to rise to $70,000 once her contractor has filled in the hole in her front yard and repaired damage to neighbouring properties. That includes piles of asphalt and other construction debris on one neighbour's front yard and the damage done to Panesar's driveway.