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Sewer nightmare: Developer takes blame as residents see sinkholes, construction in Thibodaux neighborhood
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THIBODAUX - A Louisiana developer has taken the blame for a sewer failure in a large neighborhood where homes are still being built. The problem that was supposed to have been fixed already has come back to haunt homeowners who are trying to get answers.
Summer and Scott Bridges purchased and moved into their home in July 2019. They were excited to be in a new DSLD home in the Settlement at Live Oak. Months after they moved in, the Bridges noticed a dip in the road at the front of the house.
Fast-forward to the present, and their road has been torn up three times. Twice, for a sewer-related issue at least 25 feet below ground. The Bridges are living a nightmare that's consumed their lives and destroyed their dream. Now they fear that the investment they made in a new neighborhood was troubled from the start.
All throughout construction, the Bridges have lived in their home. The dirt is pulling away from their home's foundation, which is literally teetering on the edge of a giant hole where there was once a street.
"Is our house safe for us to be living in?" Summer Bridges asked.
It's a question they can't seem to get answered.
"I'm not an engineer, he's not an engineer, so we're trusting the developer in telling us the truth," Summer Bridges said.
The Bridges' driveway, landscaping, and dirt have all separated from the foundation. A large gap has formed. They were initially given a two-week timeline for the sewer repair project, which is now in its sixth week.
This is the third time the Bridges have been through something like this. The dip in their street was repaired with a storm drain placed in the middle of their driveway in February 2023. In May 2023, the Bridges noticed the sidewalk and grass in front of their house were sinking. It continued to sink. While that was going on, they also had issues with cracking brick on the exterior of their home. The Bridges say those repairs were made by the builder, DSLD.
The Bridges maintained contact with the builder and the neighborhood's developer, Southern Lifestyle Development, about the sinking yard. The developer gave them reassurance.
"They said, 'It's just settling, it's just settling, don't worry about,'" Summer Bridges said.
In the summer of 2024, the sidewalk broke. The Bridges says it wasn't until August 2025 that an excavator was delivered, and the work started to make repairs to a broken sewer line under their street. The work was completed in October.
"They said, 'Look, everything's fixed, everything's good,'" Summer Bridges said. "They fixed it, everything's resolved, and we believed them."
They wanted to. Even so, the Bridges decided to put their home up for sale, and after 90 days on the market, their hopes of moving on stalled.
"We showed it one time, everybody in the neighborhood knows we're that house," Scott Bridges said.
They took it off the market and invested more in their home by installing a new fence and back patio. Within a week of their final payment for those improvements, their front yard started sinking again.
It sank fast.
"Again, I heard the same song and dance, 'Oh, well, the ground settles,'" Summer Bridges said.
"Yeah, 'It's just settling,'" Scott Bridges said.
In March 2026, just five weeks after their patio was finished, the Bridges' mailbox had sunk 32 inches into the ground. On April 22, 2026, a crew started digging up the street again in front of their home. A large trench box was put into the work area.
"It shakes our whole house, and every house around us," Summer Bridges said.
A large generator runs 24/7 to keep pumps running so water can be pumped out of a hole to allow crews to work. Since the ground has been opened up again, the Bridges say their water has been disconnected from their house three times. The gas line broke, too. The ground is vibrating.
"It was just spewing gas," Summer Bridges said.
More and more land has washed away into a hole. Now neighbors in the area have reported damage to their property. Rachel Zachry lives across the street from the Bridges. Her driveway has cracked and partially fallen into a hole.
"I have cracked tiles in my master bathroom, and we also have our newly-poured back patio that is cracked in two spots," Zachry said.
On Thursday, June 4, a water pipe broke underground, taking out water service to the entire neighborhood. Lafourche Water District made the repairs quickly.
On Friday, June 5, the crew filled in the large hole in the street and worked to dig two more trenches to connect the repaired sewer to the main line. The Bridges don't think they'll recover from the damage done to their property and want to be made whole.
"We don't even know if this is safe," Summer Bridges said.
Southern Lifestyle Development has offered to refund the Bridges for the 2019 purchase price of their home. The Bridges had their home appraised in May, and their home is now valued at least $100,000 more the 2019 purchase price.
The Bridges have sent their documentation to Southern Lifestyle Development and met with the company representative last week. SLD representative Jeff Vallee tells WBRZ that the matter has been turned over to insurance. The Bridges met with an insurance representative on Monday, June 8. DSLD says it remains in contact with SLD and says, "We appreciate the developer's continued efforts to resolve the issue."
Last week, Parish President Mitch Orgeron met with the Bridges. A spokesperson for the parish says Orgeron shares the concerns of the residents in the Settlement at Live Oak and continues to communicate with the developers to get this problem resolved. The spokesperson says the Parish President expects the developer to correct the situations caused in the places these residents call home.
As the work continues in front of their house, the Bridges fear their home's condition will only get worse.
"We haven't asked for anything extra, just to be made whole," said Scott Bridges.
Homes continue to be built and sold by DSLD and Level Homes in the Settlement at Live Oak. The parish says no permit was issued for the project because the sewer line already existed and the repair is being made within the subdivision right-of-way.
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