Heavy rain, a faulty valve and a malfunctioning sluice gate apparently caused a wastewater pump station in Westwood to overflow, which sent storm water and sewage into nearby homes early Christmas Eve morning.

Rain filled to overflowing a 1.2-million-gallon detention tank at the pump station near 22nd Avenue Southwest and Southwest Henderson Street. The resulting flood damaged five houses and two condominiums as well as the edge of Henderson Street, said Andy Ryan, Seattle Public Utilities' spokesman.

The overflow erupted from a manhole at the side of Wastewater Control Facility No. 3. Water poured westward down Henderson Street, first stair stepping at 24th Avenue and flooding some houses there. More water continued downhill to 25th Avenue Southwest, along the eastern edge of the Westwood Village shopping center. A neighbor said he witnessed sewage in a parking lot at Westwood Village during the middle of the night early Christmas Eve.

There are no gutters, curbs or sidewalks in the neighborhood so the water went straight downhill.

Three residents of a flooded condo had to be put up in temporary housing by Seattle Public Utilities and the Red Cross.

"I heard a gurgle down the hall," said Todd Downing, who was trying to get to sleep at about 2 a.m. Dec. 24. He lives on 24th Avenue with his 11-year-old son Tyler and 8-year-old daughter Kayleigh.

"Then I heard sloshing around the bedroom door," Downing said. "I got up and there was ankle-deep muck everywhere."

Raw sewage mixed with rain water was oozing up from two toilets and two shower drains in Downing's expanded basement.

"The carpet was rolling with waves," he said.

The city of Seattle sent adjusters to work with Downing and other affected residents whose property was damaged.

"The city has been very proactive, surprisingly enough," Downing said.

Private cleanup crews have been scrubbing walls and floors as well as drying carpets at the damaged homes. Downing hopes to replace the carpet in his basement along with a bed, washer and dryer and maybe the oil heater. Stuffed animals, toys and clothing were ruined in the mess too.

David Chavez has lived in the neighborhood 34 years but he's never experienced anything like the Christmas Eve storm. Water rose a couple of inches into the utility room at Chavez's house. His yard was partially covered with dirt, sand, landscaping bark and other materials.

Even though Chavez cleaned up the mess, the sewage smell still lingered three days after Christmas, he said.

City pumper trucks, street sweepers, fire trucks and management vehicles running for hours made for a noisy Christmas Eve.

"I didn't sleep at all that night," said neighbor Shauna Cheney, who's lived in the neighborhood five years.

The Christmas Eve flooding caused an estimated $200,000 damage to private property in the neighborhood, Ryan said.

The valve at the wastewater control facility was replaced with a plug as a temporary repair, Ryan said. The long-term solution is to install an electronic monitor on the valve to signal in case of malfunction, he said. Work crews also repaired the sluice gate.

"We replumbed it and we think we've got the problem fixed," Ryan said.

Sandbags and new gravel were placed along the southern edge of Henderson Street downhill from the wastewater control facility to prevent further erosion.

Things have been tough for the Downing family recently. Todd's wife, Samantha, died of cancer in July. Then Todd's father died a month later. Now a Christmas Eve flood of sewage.

"It's all about looking for the hundreds of gifts that come from things like this," Downing said. He's anticipating the upcoming renovation of his basement after the damage is repaired.

"It's a chance to start over," he said.

Tim St. Clair can be reached at tstclair@westseattleherald.com or 932-0300.