We just found out the MAIN sewer line for our street is directly under our house. Help!?

Question

I am concerned about health issues..The house was built in '77 but the pipes have been there since '58. I'm sure there's cracks in the pipes, do we have toxic waste in our soil underneath our home?? I'm also worried about when they close off the line.

Answer 1

That is a City issue and if problems erupt as a result of it you can have several things done.

1. The City buys yours house top value and you move and get another house.

2. The City insures no problem and stand behind it 100% that if you decide to sale and can;t sale because of that, the City buys the house anyways.

3. Each City has a budget, sometimes they can remove the old line and sometimes it's cheaper to leave it there, but an inconvenience to you.
When you meet with the City's Director and give your problem for them to consider at the next City meeting, your issues are brought up.
I speak from experience dealing with a similar issue that occurred in Columbus, Georgia.
The City bought the house.

Answer 2

What would closing off the line do to you? That would just mean that no more sewage would go through the pipe. I don't follow your logic - first you worry that there's sewage there, then you worry that the city will stop sending it.

Why are you worried about a sewer main? Do you have specific signs or indications of a leak? Smells? Water in the basement? Do you plan to do any digging, and you're worried that you'll hit it? Call the city to find out the exact location, and have it marked. They will either come out and mark it, or tell you who to call to have this done. In my state, this is a free service - I'm having my underground utilities marked today or tomorrow, in fact, so that we can do some landscaping. You can check with the city works dept. to find out how deep the line is buried.

A groundwater expert told me that on average, toxic bacteria, etc. are filtered out of groundwater once it's move through about 8-10 feet of soil. So unless you have a shallow main, or you're finding signs of leaks, you're probably stressing yourself over nothing.

Answer 3

it quite is no longer likely that there are different lines, yet think of of the effect of the only you have. If at every time the sewer line desires fix/replace, they have the criminal desirable {by fact of a 20 foot easement} to bypass desirable with the aid of your place without repayment to you.

Answer 4

Surely a house built as recently as 1977 wouldn't be built over existing municipal sewer lines. check your source of information.

Answer 5

You probably don't have anything to worry about. You could check to see how deep the pipe runs, but any leaks would tend to filter down deeper and not rise.