The owner of Hot Pot tells Action News the pipes in the restaurant were clogged and that employees were dumping only mop and dishwater into the sewer, but one Manayunk resident isn't sold.
John Teague snapped photos and video of the employees dumping a substance down the sewer on a couple of occasions since the restaurant opened less than two weeks ago.
"It appears to me that they don't have any way to dispose of their garbage, so what they do is pile it here in this alley, wash it down here, and they're dumping garbage here in this sewer," he said. "Regardless of what it is, you're not allowed to take your garbage from the restaurant and bring it out to the public sidewalk and pour it out on the curb."
The City of Philadelphia said it is investigating.
The Water Department took samples from the sewer to see what exactly is being dumped.
"You should not be putting anything into the sewer other rainfall," said spokesperson John DiGiulio. "Anything else is considered illegal dumping."