Drain cleaning in Florissant

A city built in two decades

The Census Bureau's housing estimates put about 71 percent of Florissant's homes in the 1950s and 1960s. Houses of that age were commonly built with a clay tile lateral outside and cast iron under the basement floor.

Clay tile was laid in short sections, and roots get in at the joints. The city's own program guide says you may need to have the line cabled every year, especially with large trees or bushes in the yard. More on that under tree roots in the sewer line.

One slow sink or tub is a different problem, close to that fixture. That is a clogged drain call.

How Florissant's lateral program works

Florissant runs its program differently from most cities in the county. You don't hire a contractor or collect bids. The city's own sewer crew makes the repair.

The program is paid for by a $50 yearly fee on the real estate tax bill. It covers houses and residential buildings with up to six units.

1. You apply online and pay a $300 deposit. The city doesn't take personal checks for it.
2. The city's contracted plumber cables the line and runs a camera through it.
3. The City Engineer reviews the video.
4. If the repair is approved, the city's crew digs, repairs the pipe, backfills and seeds. The deposit comes back after the repair.

The city says the average wait from approval to repair is two weeks, and that a line that is completely blocked moves to the front.

What the program won't do

• It covers the lateral from the main to within five feet of the foundation. Pipe under the house, and the last five feet outside it, is yours.
• It makes spot repairs, usually about ten feet of pipe. The city says it doesn't replace whole laterals.
• It turns down small defects and hairline cracks, and any line that is open and in working order.
• It doesn't replace trees, shrubs, sod, decks or private concrete. The city fills the trench and seeds it.
• The city says the program isn't meant to satisfy a home sale contingency, and it won't speed up a repair for a closing.

Before you pay the deposit

If the application is turned down, the city keeps the $300. That can happen when the line turns out to be open and working, or when the trouble is under the house or in the house plumbing.

So it pays to know which problem you have. A backup that clears with one cabling and stays clear was a clog, and the program wouldn't have paid for it. A line that keeps backing up after it has been cabled is the case the city describes: recurring backups that regular maintenance can't fix. That is the time to apply. The city doesn't require a plumber's inspection first.

Sinkholes, and backups in the public sewer

MSD owns the public mains in Florissant. If a sinkhole opens in the yard, call the city's Engineering Division at 314-839-7643. The city has MSD run a dye test. If the leak is in the public sewer, MSD repairs it. If it is in your lateral, you can apply to the city's program, and no deposit is needed.

If sewage comes up when nobody in the house is running water, the public sewer may be blocked. MSD takes backup reports at 314-768-6260. MSD lists its Florissant/Dunn project as completed. It put in about 6,170 feet of larger sewer to cut down on basement backups.

Compare sewer lateral programs across 29 St. Louis-area cities