WATCH ABOVE: Global’s Kelly Greig reports on the sewage backup at the MUHC.
MONTREAL – Just months after opening, the Montreal Children’s Hospital is facing some major plumbing problems.
Black sewer water that smells “worst than rotten fish” is backing up the drains.
Thursday, sources within the hospital told the Montreal Gazette that there have been six recent floods and fruit flies are coming out of the sinks.
Administrators said they are meeting with SNC-Lavalin contractors to come up with a solution.
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“We’re just the tenants,” Ian Popple, MUHC spokesperson, told Global News.
“All we can do is report the problems and hope they are fixed as quickly as possible by SNC-Lavalin.”
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The issue has happened over a dozen times in the intensive care unit, patient rooms and staff bathrooms.
The stench has reached as high as the ninth floor.
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Employees said plumbers have repeatedly snaked the drains, but the problem has yet to be resolved.
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Almost 14,000 glitches have been reported since construction started on the $1.3 billion super hospital, which was built by SNC-Lavalin.
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According to SNC-Lavalin’s Louis-Antoine Paquin, the problem isn’t with the construction, but patients and visitors stuffing too much paper into the toilets and causing them to back up.
“This particular issue was caused by a mechanical break in one of the urinals, not the drainage system,” he explained via e-mail.
To date, the MUHC has spent $1.5 million in legal fees battling the contracting company.
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