Why is My Sewer Backed Up?

To learn how to handle a sewer backup better, you will first need to learn what causes a sewage line to backup. Also, you will learn how to better maintain your sewer lines and prevent it from backing up, and causing damage to your home.

Sewer lines can back up in sanitary main sewer lines which are under the municipality's responsibility, and in the lines between the buildings and the street's main line which are under the property owner's responsibility.

Overflow of Sanitary Lines

It is common that heavy rain will fill the sewer lines faster than the lines can be drained. In these cases the sewer lines fill up due to insufficient system capacity or overwhelming water volumes. This will lead to a multiple sewage backups as the water back up through residential floor drains and overflows.


Man-made Destruction

Another common cause of water blockages within the city's system is man-made destruction and vandalism. City maintenance workers often find objects such as rocks, bricks, solid objects and debris that have been stuffed down manholes leading to stoppages and causing sewage backups.

Sewer Pipes Blockage
There are different causes for pipes and sewer blockages. Some are simple to find and easy to prevent, and some are hidden and can hardly ever be detected before the damage happens.
Structural defects happen due to system deterioration in both pipes and manholes. These defects include problems with sewer service lines such as pipe collapse, sags in the line, cracks, and offset joints. Structural defects can develop overtime and cause damage to the system, leading to a serious overflow that will require reconstruction of sewer lines.