Ellee's house flooded with sewage restoration fund

It was an ordinary day at work--remotely on my computer--when I first heard my cat distressingly meowing and then I noticed the smell. It was hard to take in at first, seeing that every room in my house had been flooded with sewage. See the video for more of the gory details. So, why was there sewage spewing into my house? While the City of Santa Fe, NM has claimed full responsibility, they won't answer my questions on what happened. I am glad no one else's house suffered, but it was not a simple backup. The manhole in the front of the house had a 3-foot geyser of sewage spouting out of it, and the manhole in the arroyo behind my house spewed enough sewage to flood the creek. I am guessing that some backflow preventer failed in the mainline. 

I had no option but to evacuate with my dog (Mozart) and my cat (Teddy). This happened at the beginning of January, it is looking like it will be several more months before we get to return home. Did you know that sewage throws off spores? These spores basically contaminated everything in my house, and I mean everything. The restoration service has had to remove all of my furniture, the appliances, the vanities in the bathrooms, the tub/shower unit, the kitchen cabinets that sat on the floor, and even the wood-burning stove and its platform. This is the kitchen--see the upper cabinet and the sink pipes.

After all that was removed, they took up the flooring and removed 3 feet of the drywall and the insulation behind it. Reminds me of how the Grinch takes everything when he tries to stop Christmas from coming.

A lot of stuff can be cleaned of the spores, but not everything. I still don't know what of my furniture will be recoverable. Certainly not the Persian rug I've had for almost 30 years. So far they are telling me that the paintings on the wall can't be cleaned, but I don't believe that. I expect it will require finding a special art restoration service, but will the City's insurance pay for it? I don't know.

I am requesting funds because I am not sure if the City of Santa Fe's insurance will adequately value the cleaning and the replacements for the rugs, flooring, couches, artwork, the platform for the wood-burning stove, my hiking boots, and so on. I don't know if they will pay for replacing the upper kitchen cabinets since they should be the same as the new ones. In conversation with the claims adjuster so far, it is already sounding like they are going to nickel and dime me. 

I see two ways forward here. One is that after trying to get the best valuation for the replacements, I pay any difference. The other is I hire a lawyer with these funds to make a case against the City to get the right valuation along with whatever else the lawyer can argue for.

I admit that I don't want to do the second option because that makes this nightmare last even longer. While it's not right to be nickel and dimed, I would prefer to go home in a few months instead of a year or more. While the City will be paying for my temporary housing, they do it after its all completed. I have to shell out the money for it in the meantime. As you can see, I am between a rock and a hard place.

I don't know for sure how much I need to feel like I have my home back, but I am guessing it will add up quickly. Thank you for caring.