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Your Responsibility and Ours
Providing a quality wastewater collection system is a cooperative venture between the District and it's customers. You can do your part to help us, whether it's properly maintaining your sewer lateral that connects your property to the sewer main in the street or properly disposing of household hazardous waste rather than flushing it down the drain.
The Property Owner is responsible for:
Keeping the building sewer clear between the building and the property line cleanout if there is one. If there is no cleanout or the location is unknown, the owner is responsible for clearing the building service line to the sewer main. We suggest the owner employ a plumber to clear any stoppages in the building sewer.
Locating the building sewer and its connection to the service sewer is also the owner's responsibility, although we will attempt to assist with available records and information.
Installing a backflow prevention device if needed. A backflow prevention device ensures that none of the sewage that is backing up in the mainline will reach your individual sewer line, known as a side sewer or lateral, and overflow into your residence or business. A backflow prevention device cannot guarantee that your property will not be affected by a mainline stoppage. However, it does reduce the chances of overflow into your property.
How to tell if you need a backflow prevention device. If the finished floor elevation of your building is less than one foot above the upstream manhole elevation, or you have a basement, the risk of an overflow and flooding is greatly increased. A backflow prevention device should be installed to protect your building from damage caused by overflows. District Ordinance Code Sections 6.040 through 6.070 requires that all property owners are responsible for installing a backflow prevention device if their property conditions warrant it. If you are uncertain whether or not your property requires a backflow prevention device, contact the District to set up an inspection of the site.
District's Responsibility
- Call us first if you experience any sewer overflows, backups, or other sewer-related problems at your residence or business. The District maintains a 24-hour on-call service for emergencies, and we will dispatch a crew to respond to your problem as quickly as possible.
- We will check the main sewer and if there is an existing property line cleanout, we will also inspect it to determine if the stoppage is in the building sewer line between the property line cleanout and the sewer main. We will clear the stoppage if it is in the part of the building between the property line cleanout and the sewer main.
- If a plumber is unable to clear a stoppage due to a defect in the building sewer line, the district will evaluate the damage and determine if a repair is necessary, provided a property line cleanout has been installed to District standards. If there is no cleanout to grade, a cleanout must first be installed at the property line. The District will perform no work on private property except within a public sewer or utility easement.
- The District's only responsibility for work on private property is for damage caused by the wastewater backup due to stoppages in the sewer main, not from flow from a property due to a building sewer stoppage.
- The District does not service building sewer line cleanouts in rear easements. The property owner is responsible for clearing the building sewer to the sewer main.
