The owner of Lemon Head Hair Salon said she’s trying to get back on her feet after a city sewer line flooded her business, forcing it to close for two weeks.

Wastewater flowed into the business for several hours Oct. 19, seriously damaging the drywall, said owner and stylist Alayna Mathews.

“It was gushing out of the toilet,” she said.

When the landlord arrived to deal with the issue, water was running from the business at 145 East College Drive to Main Avenue, she said.

The flood was caused by grease in the sewer main that caused water to backup into adjacent sewer lines, said Jarrod Biggs, assistant utilities director.

City employees cleared the blockage the night it happened and returned Oct. 21 to clean the sewer mains in the area, Biggs said in an email to The Durango Herald.

The flood forced the business to close until Nov. 1 for repairs so the drywall could be removed and the walls could be dried and repaired, Mathews said. The floor is cement and was undamaged, she said.

The building’s owner paid for immediate repairs to the building, but is likely to submit a claim to the city’s insurance provider, Colorado Intergovernmental Risk Sharing Agency.

“I am unsure where that claim is in the process, but we do have a policy rider to provide some compensation for claims in cases where damages aren’t fully covered by a property owner’s insurance coverage,” Biggs said.

Mathews said she is replacing supplies and wants to compensate her eight employees who could not work while the salon was closed.

“I am slowly drowning,” she said.

Mathews is asking the community to help cover the employees’ missed pay. She has set up a GoFundMe page with a goal of raising $8,000.

“It’s the right thing to do, if I can just get them compensated,” she said.

Lemon Head has been in business for 23 years.

“It’s hard enough being a small-business owner and then something like this happens,” she said.

mshinn@durangoherald.com