When we get hold of Charlotte Åkerlind, she is sitting in a car on the way up to Stockholm.
The fact that it is now being dug outside her 18th century house in the Old Town in Kalmar is a major milestone in her fight for the house.
It all started in December 2012 when the entire basement was filled with 80 centimeters of wastewater.
Since then, the problems have piled up.
With every rain, water has rushed into the house.
Several years of struggle
During excavations in 2017, the sidewalk outside the house was raised and then the situation became even worse.
- For three years I have fought for someone from the municipality to come here and watch.
Unfortunately, this has not happened, but now we have come to a form of cooperation.
Charlotte Åkerlind and the municipality recently made an agreement.
- We were commissioned by the public works office to restore the street outside the house to a maintained condition.
We adjust the sidewalk and cover it with asphalt.
In one of the corners, we also lower the street a bit, says Ulrick Hultman, CEO of Kalmar municipal company.
Calls for stormwater investigation
But that does not mean that the danger is over.
- This means that there will be floods above ground instead of the water being pushed underground.
But it is still better, says Charlotte Åkerlind.
She believes that a stormwater investigation is needed in the area, something that the municipality has obeyed.
- A stormwater investigation has been started for the entire area and the plan is for it to be ready by February, says Ulrick Hultman.
In October, Charlotte Åkerlind began a hunger strike outside the cathedral in Kalmar to get a meeting with Kalmar's municipal council.
Photo: SVT