Facts About Sewer Backup Incidents

Sewer Backups

Sewer backups are an unfortunate but common problem in U.S. cities and towns. Although municipal departments make every effort to prevent such incidents, they still may occur. The following information is offered to help property owners and residents understand why backups happen, how they can be prevented, and what steps citizens should take if a sewer backup affects their property.

Resources

• Coping With a Sewer Backup Handout (PDF)
• Facts About Sewer Backup Incidents (PDF)

Causes

Sanitary sewer overflows can be caused by a number of factors. They usually involve sewer pipe blockages in either main sewer lines or service laterals (lines between buildings and the main line). Causes may include pipe breaks or cracks due to tree roots, system deterioration, insufficient system capacity due to residential or commercial growth, or construction mishaps.

In home and office plumbing systems, the main cause is accumulation of grease, tree roots, hair, or solid materials, such as disposable diapers or sanitary napkins that are too large for wastewater pipes to handle. Such materials may cause major backups in Village lines as well as in residents’ lateral lines. A frequent cause of water stoppages within the Village’s system, however, is vandalism. Leaves, sticks, rocks, bricks, and trash have been found stuffed down manholes. We hope you will report observations of any such activity.

If the backup occurs in a Village maintained line, the wastewater will normally overflow out of the lowest possible opening, which is usually a manhole. However, in some homes—especially those with basements, or where the lowest level is even with the sewer lines—the overflowing wastewater may exit through the home’s lower drains and toilets.