Close encounters with the third kind

Well, life has been an interesting endeavor in balancing huge quantities of work (both school and of the employment variety), limited sleep, and a little social interaction these last few weeks. It is fun and challenging, but good lord, O-Chem is going to kill me.
Yesterday my frantic schedule was broken by an unwelcome intruder. I was home for a quick bite of lunch before physics, and just before I left, I noticed that water was welling up from the drains in the downstairs bathroom. These were not the waters of heaven however, they had a look and smell about them which is best left to your imagination. Needless to say, I skipped physics. After placing a call to the Caldwell water dept (thanks to Beth for clear thought in a moment of crises), and a few hours of bailing furiously (more thanks to Beth for hauling buckets), my basement was mostly saved from flooding. A battery backup got a little damp (but seems to be working), and a small section of carpet also got soaked. I gave everything involved a good dose of clorox water however, so I think all of the bacteria have probably lost membrane potential by now. My parents (bless their hearts) came out the same night with a carpet cleaner, and things are pretty much back to normal. The neighbors got hit much worse. They just moved in a few months ago, and have been working to finish their basement since then. Apparently they had just gotten sheetrock, carpet, etc finished. Their basement must be a few inches deeper because they had about 5 or 6 inches of water sitting in it all day. The disaster cleanup people were there pumping water out until late in the night.
According to the water-guy, the blockage was caused by massive grease dumping somewhere in my neighborhood. Apparently the pipe had been cleaned just 6 months earlier, and usually only needs cleaned once every two years. The school across the street is a major suspect of course. So, the moral of the story is DON'T DUMP GREASE DOWN THE DRAIN!