When waste not intended to be placed in the sanitary sewer like diapers, napkins, grease, paper towels or other non dispersable items get stuck on their way from your toilet, sink or bathtub to the sewer, disgusting back-ups may occur. These clogs can happen in the pipes inside your home or in the lateral line leading from your home. If plugged, this will not allow the waste water to flow to the municipal sewer system and may "back up" into the property. Clogs in the lateral may also be caused by tree roots penetrating the pipe and restricting flow.
The following are all reasons a sanitary sewer backup in your sewer drains may occur. For more detailed explanations of materials that clog the sanitary sewer service laterals and mains, visit the What NOT to Flush page.
Grease
Grease bonds to the sanitary sewer pipe, which can restrict and ultimately cut off the private sanitary sewer service from the municipal waste water system.
Solution: Do not pour grease or other illegal substances down the drain, as they will eventually clog the sanitary sewer service lines.
Waste
If the sanitary sewer service pipe is too small, or is partially clogged, the waste leaving the house from toilets, bathtubs, laundry rooms and dishwashers will back up into the house. This backup can usually be seen in the basement bathroom or laundry room.
Solution: Ensure you are only flushing acceptable human body waste, toilet paper and dirty water.
Tree Roots
Shrubs and trees, seeking moisture, will make their way into sewer line cracks. These roots can cause extensive damage. They may start out small, getting into a small crack in the pipe; but as the tree or shrub continues to grow, so does the root. After time, this causes your sewer line to break, which in turn allows debris to hang up in the line, thus causing a back up.
Solution: One way to prevent roots from entering your line is to replace your line and tap with new plastic pipe. The other alternative is to be careful about planting greenery around your sewer line or you may purchase a product containing "copper sulfate", which helps to kill roots when you pour it down your drain each year. This product should be used with extreme caution. If you have continuing problems with tree roots in your lateral, you may have to have them cut periodically by having the lateral rodded.
Breaks in the Pipe/Saturated Ground
When the ground around the sanitary sewer service is saturated (after a heavy rain or in an area with ponding water), the rainwater can seep into the cracks in the pipe.
Solution: Replace the cracked sanitary sewer service.
Drain Line Check Valves
Property owners can install a drain line check valve to prevent backups. For an existing building, the estimated cost is $1000. Most of the expense is for labor to remove a section of the basement floor, uncover the drain, install the check valve, and then repair the basement floor.
The check valve is not fool proof, and there are some circumstances where it may fail to prevent a backup. Still, it will eliminate many of the problems. A plumbing permit is required for the installation.
Paying for Damage From a Sewer Backup
It is important to understand that the City of La Crosse Sanitary Sewer Utility will not pay for damages caused by sewer backups. If it the property owner feels the problem was caused by negligence on behalf of the utility, they would have to follow the City of La Crosse Liability Claims process.
Many homeowners' insurance policies exclude damage resulting from sewer backups, thus creating a financial hardship to the property owner in the event of an incident. However, some insurance companies do provide sewer backup coverage with a special rider. If you are concerned about the possibility of a sewer backup and want to insure that you are covered, the utility urges you to check with your home or property insurer regarding the availability of sewer backup insurance.
Sewer Odor
Another concern that property owners have is that they can smell sewer odors inside their house or building. There are many ways to prevent this from occurring. Under each drain in your plumbing system, there is a "P-Trap". If there is water in this fitting, odors or gasses from the sewer cannot enter through the drain from either the property owner's lateral or the City main. “P-Traps” will dry out faster in the wintertime when the humidity is low. Periodically check to make sure that unused floor drains, sinks etc. have water in the "P-trap". Another way to prevent sewer odor is to ensure that the vents, which are located on your roof, are free from bird nests, leaves, etc. When these vents are clear, the sewer odors will escape through these vents.
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