A San Benito man wants answers from the city. He claims sewage causing a foul stench in his neighborhood.

For three years, the San Benito resident has called the Liberty Estates Neighborhood home, but in the last several months he's noticed one thing.

"For a while now, the neighborhood gets really stinky. It smells like a sewer plant is nearby," the resident said.

He asked us to hide his identity because he's afraid of retaliation from the city. He believes the smell is coming from a leak in the neighborhood's sewage system.

"The sewage gutters are seeping over, and the sewage is coming out onto the street going down the curb and going into the stormwater drains," the resident said.

He said he's notice this issue for about five months. He called the city and says he was told a work order would be put in.

City of San Benito Public Information Officer Cristina Garcia said they're aware it's an issue that they're working to address.

She explained a lift station burned out and crews have spent the last week trying to fix it.

"What flows from the homes and the businesses when we flush our toilets that goes into the lift station and eventually is treated at our wastewater treatment plant. What happened in this case is that the pump went down," Garcia said.

Garcia says the city is working to update their aging infrastructure. This year, they allocated funds to purchase new pumps for their lift stations.

For now, they ask residents to only throw flushable items down the drain. Garcia says when residents flush items they shouldn't, it causes an overflow issue.

The city is asking residents that if they see a sewage leak to call them, so crews can come out and get the issue fixed. The number to call is 956-361-3840.