When To Call the City Instead of a Plumber
If the problem is on the utility's side of the meter, or if your neighbours are affected too, it is the city's to fix and it will not cost you anything. Working that out first can save you a call out entirely.
What to do right now
Do these first. None of them need tools or plumbing knowledge, and they limit what this ends up costing you.
- Ask a neighbourIf the street has no water, or several houses have sewage backing up, it is a main rather than your property. The utility usually knows already.
- Find the meterThe meter is the usual dividing line. The utility owns the main and typically the meter. You own the line from the meter to the house.
- Check whether water is surfacing in the streetWater at the kerb or in the road is a strong sign the problem is on the public side.
Does this need a plumber tonight?
- Sewage backing up in your house, even if the cause turns out to be the main
- No water in freezing weather regardless of cause
- A confirmed utility outage with a stated restoration time
- A street level problem the utility is already attending
Where the line is drawn
Generally at the meter for water and at the property connection for sewer. The utility maintains the main and typically the meter. The homeowner maintains the service line and the lateral from there to the house.
That means a leak in the street is theirs and a leak in your yard is usually yours, even though both are buried and neither is your fault. It is not intuitive and it catches people out.
Confirm the boundary with your own provider rather than assuming, because it varies and it is the single fact that determines who pays for a five figure excavation.
- No water and neighbours also affected, call the utility
- Water surfacing in the street or at the kerb, call the utility
- Several properties with sewage backing up, call the utility
- Water in your yard between meter and house, usually yours
- A blockage in your lateral, yours
- Meter itself faulty or leaking, usually the utility
Why we tell you this
Because it costs us a call out and it is the truth. A homeowner who was told plainly that their problem was the city's is a homeowner who calls us for the next one.
It is also simply more useful. There is nothing we can do about a main in the street, and attending to tell you that in person would be charging you for information you can get from a phone call to your neighbour.
Questions people ask about this
How do I know if it is the main?
Ask a neighbour. A problem affecting several properties at once is a main. A problem affecting only yours is on your property, whatever the cause.
Will the city fix my sewer lateral?
Usually not. The lateral from the connection to your house is normally the homeowner's responsibility, even though it is buried and under the street in places. Confirm with your provider.
My meter is leaking.
The meter itself is usually the utility's. Call them rather than a plumber.
If that is not quite what you have
Not sure how urgent this is?
Describe what you can see and hear. We will tell you whether it needs someone tonight, and what to do in the meantime either way.
Or send it over
Four things and a photo.