Free Encyclopedia of Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, Repair

Ask a Question or Search InspectAPedia

• HOME
• AIR CONDITIONING
• ELECTRICAL
• EXTERIORS
• HEATING
• HOME INSPECTION
• INTERIORS
• PLUMBING
• ROOFING
• SEPTIC SYSTEMS
• STRUCTURE
• WATER SUPPLY

• ENERGY SAVINGS
• ENVIRONMENT
• INDOOR AIR IAQ
• INSULATION
• MOLD INSPECT TEST REMOVE
• NOISE
• ODORS
• SOLAR ENERGY
• VENTILATION
• EXPERTS DIRECTORY
• CONTACT US

This article explains how to determine if a public sewer line is available at a given property or building. Previously in this article on how to determine if a building is connected to a public sewer or to a private septic tank we explained what basic questions to ask. Continuing here, we find out if a public sewer line is available at all at a property. If no one knows, this is the first question to settle. If a public sewer is present the building may or may not be connected to it. But if no sewer is available at a property then a buyer needs to use different, and more involved and detailed investigative steps to find and check out the septic tank and drainfield.

Citation of this article by reference to this website and brief quotation for the sole purpose of review are permitted. Use of this information at other websites, in books or pamphlets for sale is reserved to the author. Technical reviewers are welcome and are listed at "References." This is a chapter of Inspecting, Testing, & Maintaining Residential Septic Systems an online book on septic systems.

© Copyright 2012 InspectAPedia.com, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use page top links to major topics or use links at the left of each page to navigate within topics and documents at this website. Green links show where you are in a document series or at this website.

These clues suggest that a public or community sewer system is or is not present at a building

1. Municipal building department: This data is normally recorded with the town, village, or other municipality in which the home is located. Ask your town or village building department if your street and the homes on it are connected to a sewer.
   
   
2. Ask your neighbors about sewer lines or septic tanks: occupants of any neighborhood have a vital interest in local handling of waste and wastewater. Even if you or a realtor or attorney don't know if a sewer line is present or if homes have been connected, and even if there is no prior owner available to ask about your particular building, your neighbors are likely to know about their own buildings.
   
   
3. Age of the sewer: If a sewer system is present, ask when it was installed so that you can compare that with the age of the building or home you are buying.
   
   
4. 
   
   Manholes: Also if you see large manholes in the street, especially if the lid says “SEWER” then a local sewer is probably present.
   
   Our photo shows a sewer main access cover.
   
   The fact that the cover projects above the level of the pavement tells us that this is a pretty new system and that final street paving is probably incomplete.
   
   
   
   
   
   
5. 
   Storm Drains: If you see storm drains like this one in the street, a local sewer main may be located there as well.
   
   But be careful! In some communities the storm drain system is separate and distinct from the sewer piping system.
   
   However it would be odd for any community to go to the expense of installing a storm drainage system without also installing a sewer system.
   
   
   
   
   
   
6. 
   
   Sewage Pumping stations: If the home or street is downhill from or lower than a local sewer main, a home or neighborhood pumping station (municipal lift station) will be somewhere nearby. Pumping Stations describes sewer system pumping stations.
   
   We are referring to a large public pumping station not an individual private pumping system serving just the building you are concerned about.
   
   A sewage grinder pump or pumping system installed at or in the individual building does not tell us whether the pump is sending waste up to a public sewer main or waste out to a private septic system that happens to be higher than the building main drain.
   

Questions & Answers regarding this article

.

Recommend / Share this Article            

...

Technical Reviewers & References

• InspectAPedia.com^® - Daniel Friedman - Publisher & Editor.
• InspectAPedia Bookstore lists recommended books, organized by topic & available for purchase. Most of our articles also include a list of recommended books for the specific article topic as well as other references, and information sources.
• Critique, contributions wanted: Contact Us to suggest corrections or additions to articles at this website, and if you wish, to receive online listing and credit as a contributor. Particular thanks are due to the many experts and also consumers who read and critique technical articles at InspectAPedia.com.
• Additional technical contributors & reference sources for this article are listed below.

Use links just below or at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

Septic or Sewer Connection?
  What to Ask About Sewers or Septics
  Clues Indicating a Sewer System is Present
  Clues Indicating a Building is Connected to Sewer
  Guide for buildings Connected to a Public Sewer
  Guide for buildings Pre-Dating Sewer Installation
  Guide for buildings Connected to a Private Septic

• Septic Tank/Soil-Absorption Systems: How to Operate & Maintain [ copy on file as /septic/Septic_Operation_USDA.pdf ] - , Equipment Tips, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 8271 1302, 7100 Engineering, 2300 Recreation, September 1982, web search 08/28/2010, original source: http://www.fs.fed.us/t-d/pubs/pdfimage/82711302.pdf.
• Pennsylvania State Fact Sheets relating to domestic wastewater treatment systems include
• Pennsylvania State Wastewater Treatment Fact Sheet SW-161, Septic System Failure: Diagnosis and Treatment
• Pennsylvania State Wastewater Treatment Fact Sheet SW-162, The Soil Media and the Percolation Test
• Pennsylvania State Wastewater Treatment Fact Sheet SW-l64, Mound Systems for Wastewater Treatment
• Pennsylvania State Wastewater Treatment Fact Sheet SW-165, Septic Tank-Soil Absorption Systems
• Document Sources used for this web page include but are not limited to: Agricultural Fact Sheet #SW-161 "Septic Tank Pumping," by Paul D. Robillard and Kelli S. Martin. Penn State College of Agriculture - Cooperative Extension, edited and annotated by Dan Friedman (Thanks: to Bob Mackey for proofreading the original source material.)
• ...

Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair

• Our recommended books about building & mechanical systems design, inspection, problem diagnosis, and repair, and about indoor environment and IAQ testing, diagnosis, and cleanup are at the InspectAPedia Bookstore. Also see our Book Reviews - InspectAPedia.
• Inspecting Septic Systems: Online Book, Inspection, Test, Diagnosis, Repair, & Maintenance: our Online Septic Book: Septic Testing, Loading & Dye Tests, Septic Tank Pumping, Clearances, details of onsite waste disposal system inspection, testing, repair procedures.


• Advanced Onsite Wastewater Systems Technologies, Anish R. Jantrania, Mark A. Gross. Anish Jantrania, Ph.D., P.E., M.B.A., is a Consulting Engineer, in Mechanicsville VA, 804-550-0389 (2006), Advanced Onsite Wastewater Systems Technologies. Outstanding technical reference especially on alternative septic system design alternatives. Written for designers and engineers, this book is not at all easy going for homeowners but is a text we recommend for professionals--DF.
• Builder's Guide to Wells and Septic Systems, Woodson, R. Dodge: $ 24.95; MCGRAW HILL B; TP; Quoting from Amazon's description: For the homebuilder, one mistake in estimating or installing wells and septic systems can cost thousands of dollars. This comprehensive guide filled with case studies can prevent that. Master plumber R. Dodge Woodson packs this reader-friendly guide with guidance and information, including details on new techniques and materials that can economize and expedite jobs and advice on how to avoid mistakes in both estimating and construction. Chapters cover virtually every aspect of wells and septic systems, including on-site evaluations; site limitations; bidding; soil studies, septic designs, and code-related issues; drilled and dug wells, gravel and pipe, chamber-type, and gravity septic systems; pump stations; common problems with well installation; and remedies for poor septic situations. Woodson also discusses ways to increase profits by avoiding cost overruns.
• Country Plumbing: Living with a Septic System, Hartigan, Gerry: $ 9.95; ALAN C HOOD & TP; Quoting an Amazon reviewer's comment, with which we agree--DF:This book is informative as far as it goes and might be most useful for someone with an older system. But it was written in the early 1980s. A lot has changed since then. In particular, the book doesn't cover any of the newer systems that are used more and more nowadays in some parts of the country -- sand mounds, aeration systems, lagoons, etc.