Today is Lydia Myers’ Independence Day.

Myers, 46, and her son, Davie, 10, live in a house on Oak Street that she inherited from her mother. For almost six years, they have been plagued by a sewage problem caused by a blocked sewer line on their property that has forced raw sewage to back up into their toilets and tubs every time a toilet is flushed.

The blame goes to a pecan tree root that broke through the terra cotta sewer pipe on her property and prevented sewage from reaching the city’s line.

This morning, Vicksburg plumber Bruce King began connecting a new sewer line from Myers’ home that bypasses the blockage and connects with the city service line just outside her front fence.

The work and materials are being financed by Service Over Self, a church-based community service youth group that hired King to make the repairs to eliminate the problem.

King said Bob Moss, construction coordinator for Service Over Self, approached him about the project.

“I’m going to go in and dig a trench and lay a sewer line,” he said.

Myers, unemployed for three years, said she “feels good to know we’re going to get the problem fixed.”

She lost her job as a robot welder operator for Yorozu Automotive Mississippi when the plant closed in 2008, and has not found work. The lack of money provided a roadblock to getting repairs.

“The problem began after Hurricane Katrina (in 2005) and got worse,” Myers said.

Eventually, she said, sewage began leaking through the sewer vent pipe and puddling on the ground under the rear of the house.

“When it is still (no wind), you can smell it,” she said. “My neighbor called me and said he saw sewage coming out of the vent.”

When Service Over Self came to Myers’ house last year to do work, Moss saw the problem.

“We hired a plumber then to work on the problem,” he said. “We thought he had repaired it, but it came back.”

He said the organization hired a sewer cleanout service to clean the line, but the relief was temporary.

“Several months later, we sent them out again, but it didn’t solve the problem,” he said.

Moss said the group planned to return to Myers’ home to do more work this year, “and we decided we were going to take care of the problem.”

Once the new line is connected to the city system, Moss said, “We can check the rest of her sewer lines and her fixtures to make sure there’s no other problems. We’ll also replace the vent pipe, which is damaged.”

“I tell you, I’m blessed,” Myers said. “I’m overwhelmed. Everybody has been so helpful.”