MILFORD, Del.- Underground plumbing issues have caused significant disruption to the lives of several families residing in Milford’s Brightway Commons apartment complex.
Earlier this month, the city condemned 11 units, leaving several families displaced. Although not all 11 units were occupied at the time.
Pastina Pitts, who has lived in the complex for four years, was forced out of her home two weeks ago due to plumbing issues.
"I had everybody's sewage in my house," she said.
Pitts was relocated to a new apartment, but said that has only made things worse for her and her seven children.
"They moved me into a two-bedroom apartment with 7 kids, and the refrigerator they left me with was moldy, had maggots, maggots eggs, everything. It was just no good," she added.
Milford city council member, Katrina Wilson, has been working to provide resources for those affected. However, she worries that lower-income housing is often neglected.
"The conditions of the new units were not conducive to new families moving in. They had not been cleaned or prepper," Wilson said. "I feel it's time for the state of Delaware, who subsidized these units, to step up," Wilson expressed.
Volunteers of America, the nonprofit organization that owns the 80-unit complex, issued a statement saying, "We are working closely with affected residents to make sure they are moved quickly into other housing, either at Brightway Commons or elsewhere in the local community. We also will continue to work with the city of Milford and others to rectify the plumbing issues at the property."
According to other residents, these problems have been ongoing for at least two years before the apartments were condemned.