Residents on Hawthorne Crescent in Amherstburg are threatening to sue the town unless it does something to stop their basements from flooding.

They approached town council this week after a frustrating summer during which they lost thousands of dollars due to extensive flood damage.

Merrill Power and his wife Doris own a four-level side split. They said the Aug. 9 flood was the fifth — and worst — to happen during a 12-year span.

"The sewer was coming out of the toilet bowl was hitting off the ceiling," Power said. "I had a stream of sewer basically just running through the house, running right through the third level."

Power said sewer water was approximately four feet deep in his home's lowest level. He blames the town.

Power says he and four other neighbours have a lawyer and are ready to sue the town. He estimates the flooding has cost him $120,000 in damages over the years.

"Basically we're after the town to put in a back-flow preventer to keep the sewer from backing into our houses and the town don't seem likes they want to cooperate and help us out any," Power said.

Power's lawyer says the town must compensate the residents completely and fix the drainage problem.

Power says the residents will give the town a month to fix the problem and compensate them before they take legal action.

The town's mayor, Wayne Hurst, refused to talk to CBC News about the problem.