Roots first
Outside the house, an older Olivette lateral is usually clay tile, and clay near mature trees gets roots at its joints. A cable with a root-cutting blade opens the line the same day.
Expect to do it again. Roots grow back through the same joints, and once they have shown up, a cabling every year is the usual plan. More on that under tree roots in the sewer line.
Then the cast iron
Inside the house, the drain stack and the pipe under the basement floor are cast iron in homes of this age, and most of it is past its service life. When a clog traces back to the cast iron, the pipe is descaled, flushed and inspected by camera. From there the choice is to line it or dig it up.
What Olivette's lateral program pays
Olivette charges a $50 yearly fee on the St. Louis County real estate tax bill to fund its lateral repair program. It is open to houses and to buildings with up to six units, as long as the tax bill is current.
- The city pays the contractor directly, up to $6,000, for digging, backfill and repair or replacement of the defective section.
- Difficult jobs can get up to $3,000 more. The code names laterals deeper than twelve feet and repairs under a storm sewer or a main utility line.
- The first cabling to clear the blockage isn't covered.
- Driveways, sidewalks, landscaping, fences and cleanup inside the house aren't covered. Restoration stops at regrading with seed and straw.
With a $6,000 limit, a deep repair or a long one can cost more than the city pays. Get the camera footage and a written quote first, so you know the gap before you commit.
MSD maintains the public mains in Olivette and takes backup reports around the clock at 314-768-6260. It doesn't work on laterals. MSD's rule is that the lateral is the owner's to maintain and repair, and the city program exists to help with that cost.
Compare sewer lateral programs across 29 St. Louis-area cities