Posted Tuesday, June 24, 2008 -- 5:30 pm
By Zac Schultz

Pardeeville: Any kind of water damage can lead to mold, but water filled with raw sewage is an even bigger problem.

The basement of Pardeeville's public library is looking a little empty these days. Remediation crews have been filling dumpsters with trash, and they're not done.

"This was the kitchen, all the cabinetry had to go, all the countertops," says Scott Nelson, gesturing to an empty room in the basement. He's the co-owner of Finishline Custom Construction. They've already removed all the carpet, doors and trim, now they're taking off the drywall. "We got strips cut out two feet off the floor. Some areas we'll have to go four feet off the floor."

A couple Sunday's ago Assistant Librarian Linda Glasgow got a call about running water in the library's basement. "Monday morning we came in and it wasn't water, it was six inches of sewage. It was coming out of the toilets and out of the sink and it was gushing."

Scott's crew has to take the basement down to bare studs, to see where the mold has grown. "We're going to take this wall up another two feet and cut this out and see what we've got," he says, pointing to a bathroom wall. Behind the drywall, the mold goes three feet high. "All of that's got to go. You don't want to be breathing that."

When the Finishline team is done at the library, they'll be moving to the Methodist Church. "This was about 6 inches deep in backed up sewer," says Scott. "All of this flooring has to come up. Flooring, cabinets, tops, drywall, in the insulation. Everything that could be saved has been saved, everything remaining down here is pretty much going in the dumpster."

The library was able to save even less than the church. Glasgow moved the remaining toys from the basement into the attic. "This is just a small portion of what was downstairs. A lot of the toys we weren't able to save at all."

The children's programming was held in the basement. It will be in the attic for quite a while. "They have a lot of work to do. It's going to be a long process."