What clogs a newer line
Houses built since about 1990 have plastic drain and sewer pipe. It doesn't rust, and its joints are tight enough to keep roots out. When one of these lines backs up, the cause is usually one of three things.
- A low spot. The soil in a sewer trench settles for years after a house is built, and the pipe can settle with it. Water and solids sit in the sag.
- Wipes and tampons. They pass through a smooth, well-sloped pipe and collect wherever the pipe is flat or sagging.
- Kitchen grease, which coats plastic the same way it coats cast iron.
A cable gets the line draining. If it clogs again, a camera will show whether the pipe is flat or bellied. A flat line is kept open by jetting it on a schedule. A true belly is a dig.
Whose main is it
Depending on the address, the public main belongs to the City of O'Fallon or to the Duckett Creek Sanitary District. Your sewer bill shows which one. Call that provider if more than one house on the street is backing up, or if sewage comes up when nobody in the house is running water.
- O'Fallon Water and Sewer: 636-281-2858.
- Duckett Creek Sanitary District: 636-441-1244 during office hours, and 636-447-4944 for its 24-hour emergency line.
Duckett Creek asks customers to call as soon as a backup starts. The district checks the public main, and tells you if the problem is in your own lateral so you can have it cleared.
The city's lateral program, and the order to do things in
O'Fallon charges $30 a year with property taxes for its Sewer Lateral Insurance Program, run by O'Fallon Water and Sewer. The city says it covers all residents. Duckett Creek runs a separate lateral program for its customers who aren't covered by a city one.
- It covers the lateral from the outside foundation wall to the public main, along with street, sidewalk or driveway replacement, yard repair and permits.
- Applying costs $400, and the fee isn't refunded.
- The city does its own video inspection to confirm the defect, and its own crew makes the repair.
- Repairs or videos done before you apply aren't covered.
That last rule sets the order. For a plain clog, have it cleared, and if it stays clear you never need the program. If you already think the lateral is broken, apply before you pay for a repair. The program coordinator is at 636-379-7611.
Compare sewer lateral programs across 29 St. Louis-area cities