Clay pipe, by the city's own account
About half of Ballwin's homes were built in the 1960s and 1970s, by the Census Bureau's housing estimates. The city says most older sewer laterals in Ballwin are clay pipe, and that clay tends to crack, break, separate at the joints and let roots in.
It also says a lateral can have those defects and still work normally. That is why the program doesn't pay for every cracked pipe.
The once-a-year rule
The city draws the line at how often the roots come back.
- Roots that can be kept clear with a cabling once a year, or less often, are normal maintenance. The program doesn't pay.
- Roots that have to be cleared more than once a year are a covered repair.
That makes your invoices the evidence. An application that shows only roots or minor defects has to come with a record of the line being cleared more often than once a year. Keep every cabling invoice, with its date.
More on why roots return, and how often to cut them, is under tree roots in the sewer line.
How the program works
Ballwin voters approved a $28 yearly fee in April 1999. It is collected with the real estate tax.
- The city pays up to $4,500 per job. It may go to $7,500 for a deep dig, a street cut, or another special circumstance it approves.
- You apply through the city's online portal. There is a $150 application fee.
- The application needs proof of a structural problem that cabling can't fix for good. If the line couldn't be opened, send the paid invoices from the companies that tried.
- There are no bids to collect. If you are approved, you call the program's contractor, and the contractor, the city and you sign a contract.
- The contractor bills the city, and bills you for anything over the cap.
- The payment includes patching driveways, sidewalks, curbs and street pavement cut for the repair.
If the fund has run out for the year, you pay the contractor and the city repays you up to $4,500 when money is available. The city tells you where the fund stands when you apply.
What it doesn't cover
- The cabling, and any video you have made to document the problem.
- Pipe under the house. The program starts at the outside wall.
- A lateral that still works. The city says damage from normal wear isn't covered while the line is functioning.
- Defects found by a buyer's inspection with no history of backups. The city says the program isn't meant to satisfy a home sale contingency.
- Trees, shrubs, and any later settling of the trench. The trench is left as a graded mound with seed and straw, and the city warns that the yard can be badly torn up.
Questions go to the Inspections Department at (636) 227-2129.
When nobody is running water
The city says the sewer main is owned and maintained by MSD. If sewage comes up while no one in the house is using water, the main may be blocked. MSD takes those reports at 314-768-6260.
If the backup only happens when you run water, the blockage is almost always in your own line. That is a main line cleaning call.
Compare sewer lateral programs across 29 St. Louis-area cities