DISTRICT HEIGHTS, Md. — A woman in Prince George's County is frustrated and disgusted by what she says is draining from a popular restaurant next to her home. She says the runoff smells like raw sewage flowing from the business through the neighborhood.
Phyllis Wright has lived in her District Heights home for 25 years. Her home lies behind the Hip Hop Fish and Chicken restaurant on Marlboro Pike.
Wright says a trail running downhill from the restaurant is evidence that employees are draining something they shouldn't be, right through her neighborhood.
"I know it's coming from there because I went over there and I saw it with my own two eyes," she said. "Look at the stain on the concrete. It shows you how long these people have been doing this and getting away with it. This is nothing new."
Wright is not the only one to notice the trail or the stench. Neighbors say they have been complaining to management for more than a year.
"Something has been running out the back," one neighbor said.
"I can't say it on the camera," another neighbor added. "It smells like poop."
Lately, the people who live in the area say it has only gotten worse.
"First they started with the grease," Wright said. "Now they're doing the sewage and we can't live like this."
She says she has gotten no help from the city, county or employees at the restaurant.
When WUSA9 attempted to get answers from Hip Hop Fish and Chicken by knocking, no one answered the door or our questions. Prince George's County officials however did answer WUSA9's calls and said they promise to look into the problem.
In the meantime, independent tests could help solve the mystery of what seems to be flowing downhill.
"We shouldn't have to live like this first and foremost," said Wright. "They need to do something with this hip-hop chicken. Either tear down, rebuild it, or fix that problem that they have."
Eventually, WUSA9 was able to get someone at the restaurant on the phone. They admitted that they are having a problem but claimed it had nothing to do with the sewer but that the restaurant was draining water from a sink.
We'll let you know what the tests say from the samples we collected.