· by Michael Blair, Nashville's Plumbing Repair
The sewer lateral is the single pipe that carries everything from your house to the public main. Metro’s sewer use ordinance calls it the building sewer, and it defines the main as a community sewer, one that carries wastewater from more than one premise. Ownership is not in doubt: Metro Water Services’ private sewer service policy says the property owner owns, and is responsible for, the line from the building to the sewer main. What surprises people is the next part of that policy, where Metro takes on some of the repair. Most people learn all of this on the day the line fails.
Who owns the sewer line between the house and the main?
The property owner does, from the main to the house, and that rule is one sentence of the Metro Code. Section 15.40.050, printed in full on Metro Water Services’ sewer policy brochure, says the owner will own and maintain the sewer service line from the public sewer main to the structure served. There is no separate tap belonging to the utility in that wording; your line runs to the main itself. The main is Metro’s, and the brochure’s drawing notes that the easement it sits in varies and may be at the front, side or back of a property, under a road, a sidewalk or a ditch.
Subsection B of the same section is the part most owners have never heard of. If a failed service line interrupts your sewer and you have made a good-faith effort to fix it, the department repairs the portion inside the public right of way or easement, from the main out to that boundary. Before it will, the owner has to provide an excavated, open access to the line at the boundary. Residential customers are not billed for that repair; commercial customers pay its cost. Everything between the house and the boundary stays yours.
This is why a plumber asks where the cleanout is before anything else. It is the capped access point a camera and clearing equipment go in through, and Metro’s policy says the caps stay on at all times except during inspection or cleaning. Some houses have one near the foundation, some have one out in the easement, and some have none anyone can find. When a house has none, adding one is usually our first job.
Why do sewer laterals fail in Middle Tennessee?
Tree roots are the first thing we look for on a camera run under an older, shaded lot. Tennessee 811’s guide to when to call warns homeowners that as a tree matures its roots may grow into utility lines and disrupt service, and a sewer lateral carrying warm, wet waste is one of those lines. A joint that has opened even slightly is where we usually find them.
The camera also shows what the pipe is made of and whether it has moved. We look for joints that have pulled out of line and for bellies, low stretches that hold water and let solids settle until the line slows. Symptoms at the drain cannot tell those apart; the footage from a camera inspection can, and it also shows whether the trouble sits on your side of the easement boundary or Metro’s, which under the ordinance changes who pays. If the problem only shows up in a downpour, our post on drains that gurgle when it rains covers that version of it.
What a repair involves
We treat root cutting as maintenance rather than a repair, because the opening the roots came through is still there afterward and they can find it again. The real choices are digging up and replacing the bad stretch, or a trenchless method such as lining or bursting where the pipe still allows it. Our sewer line repair service does both, and the camera footage decides which one fits.
When a plumber cannot clear a backup, Metro’s brochure sets out the route: call Metro Water Services at 615-862-4600 and ask for Emergency Service. The owner signs a waiver form. If there is a cleanout inside the easement, Metro’s crew may use it to inspect and clean toward the main; if not, the owner or the owner’s plumber digs down to the line at the easement line and cuts a 2-foot opening in the pipe. Metro does not clean or televise toward the house. The owner pays for cutting, reattaching and backfilling, unless Metro ends up repairing the pipe in the easement, in which case Metro reattaches it, fills the hole and repairs the road or sidewalk, with no charge to a residential customer.
Digging in the street or under a sidewalk brings in a second department. The Nashville Department of Transportation’s excavation permit page says every right-of-way permit is applied for through ePermits, asks applicants to check the status of their XC license first, and requires the final restoration of the right of way to be finished before the permit expires at 90 days. Tennessee One-Call must be notified before any digging, which Metro’s policy states plainly, and Tennessee 811’s steps to safe digging give the numbers, 811 or (800) 351-1111, with at least three working days’ notice. Its page on public and private utilities adds the catch for this job: utility operators may not mark private lines, and water or sewer lines from the main to your home are among those the property owner is responsible for having located. For the rest of the house, our post on which plumbing jobs need a permit goes through the list.
- Camera inspection first, to see the material, the joints and any belly
- Call 811 at least three working days before digging, and have the private lateral located separately
- Add a cleanout if the house does not have one
- Check whether the work reaches the right of way, which needs an NDOT excavation permit
Does insurance pay for a broken sewer lateral?
Policies differ too much for us to generalize about what yours pays for, so this section is the questions we would ask. Put two to your agent separately: does the policy pay for damage inside the house when sewage backs up, and does anything pay to repair or replace the pipe itself. Get both answers in writing.
If you are offered separate service line coverage, ask what it excludes, root intrusion and gradual wear in particular, and which stretch of the line it actually pays for. Under Metro’s ordinance the part inside the right of way or easement may already be repaired at no charge to a residential customer, so the stretch between the house and that boundary is the one that matters. Read the policy before the pipe fails, not after, and if the line is already acting up, get a free estimate from us.
Sources
- Metro Water Services, Private Sewer Service Policy (Metro Code 15.40.050, BL2006-1239) — Owner owns and maintains the line from the building to the main; Metro repairs the right-of-way or easement portion after a good-faith effort and open access, no charge to residential customers; 862-4600 emergency line, waiver, 2-foot opening, who pays to backfill; cleanout caps stay on; easement location varies; Tennessee One-Call before digging
- Metro Code Title 15, Chapter 15.04 Definitions (Sewer Use Ordinance) — Building sewer and community sewer defined
- Nashville Department of Transportation, Excavation Permits — Right-of-way permits through ePermits; XC license; restoration before the 90-day permit expires
- Tennessee 811, Before You Dig — 811 or (800) 351-1111; at least three working days’ notice
- Tennessee 811, Public and Private Utilities — Operators may not mark private lines; sewer lines from the main to the home are the owner’s to have located
- Tennessee 811, When To Call — Tree roots may grow into utility lines and disrupt service
FAQ
The Sewer Lateral Is Yours, Not the City — questions
Who fixes a sewer line that breaks under the street?
The lateral is yours all the way to the main, even under the street. But Metro Code 15.40.050, as printed in Metro Water Services’ sewer policy brochure, has Metro repair the part of a failed lateral inside the right of way or easement once the owner has made a good-faith effort and dug open access at the boundary, and residential customers are not billed for that repair. The main itself is Metro’s. If a plumber cannot clear a backup, call Metro Water Services at 615-862-4600 and ask for Emergency Service.
How do I know if my house has a cleanout?
Look for a capped pipe at or just above ground level between the house and the street, often a few feet out from the foundation. Metro’s policy drawing also shows a possible cleanout out in the sewer easement. If you cannot find one, a plumber can add one before any camera work, and whatever cap you have should stay on except during inspection or cleaning.
Is trenchless lining as good as replacing the pipe?
It depends on the pipe. A liner needs an existing line that still holds its shape, so where a section has collapsed or sags badly, we dig that spot instead. A liner seals the joints it covers, which is where roots get in, and how long it lasts is a matter for the installer’s written warranty, so ask to see that before choosing it over replacement.
How do I locate my sewer lateral line?
Not through the utility locate alone. Tennessee 811 says operators may not mark private lines, and the sewer line from the main to your home is yours to have located. Call 811 at least three working days before digging and arrange a separate locate for the private lateral.