A. The City shall be responsible for maintaining all City sanitary and combined sewer mains within its corporate limits. The City shall not be responsible for the maintenance, repair, or replacement of any sanitary sewer lateral connecting a private parcel or structure to a public sanitary or combined sewer main unless the City Council has formally accepted ownership and responsibility for the lateral by resolution or ordinance duly adopted.
B. Private land owners shall be solely responsible for the maintenance, repair, and replacement of sanitary sewer laterals connecting their parcels or structures with public sanitary or combined sewer mains, including portions of laterals located under public rights-of-way or easements under the jurisdiction and control of the City or other governmental entities.
C. The City will partially reimburse residential land owners who incur costs maintaining, repairing, and replacing portions of sanitary sewer laterals located under public rights-of-way and easements pursuant to a cost sharing program to be known as the City's "Sanitary Sewer Lateral Program". The Sanitary Sewer Lateral Program will be administered by the City's Department of Community and Economic Development in accordance with a written policy initially adopted by the City Council and amended from time to time at the direction of the City Council.
D. The City Council does hereby reauthorize the Program and declare that is shall be conducted in accordance with the “Sanitary Sewer Lateral Program Policy,” a copy of which is set out below. The Policy may be amended from time to time by the City Council by duly approved motion directing the City Manager to revise the policy.
CITY OF DES PLAINES
SANITARY SEWER LATERAL PROGRAM
This policy is adopted pursuant to Ordinance No. M-23-17 "An Ordinance Amending Section 9-2-3 of the City of Des Plaines City Code Regarding Sewer and Lateral Maintenance and Reauthorizing a Policy for Reimbursement of Private Lateral Repair and Reconstruction" which was adopted by the City Council on November 20, 2017.
BACKGROUND: The City of Des Plaines is responsible for the maintenance, repair, and replacement of all city sanitary and combined sewer mains. Private landowners are responsible for the maintenance, repair, and replacement of the lateral sewer lines that connect structures to the public sewer mains. Private laterals may extend from private property under public roads, other rights-of-way, and publicly held easements. In the event that a lateral becomes blocked on private property, the owner of that property is solely responsible for all costs associated with maintaining (including cleaning and rodding), repairing, or replacing the blocked lateral. However, if a blockage of a homeowner's private lateral occurs under a public right-of-way or easement, the City will provide partial reimbursement of costs in accordance with this policy.
PROGRAM DETAILS AND PROCEDURES: The City of Des Plaines Sanitary Sewer Lateral Program aims to provide partial financial assistance to residential homeowners dealing with blocked sanitary sewer laterals. Commercial property owners do not qualify for the Program. A sanitary sewer lateral is the section of a homeowner's sewer line that runs from the house to the public sewer main which may be located in a street, parkway, other right-of-way, or easement area. If a homeowner experiences a sanitary sewer back-up, the following steps must be followed in order for any work to be eligible for financial assistance by the City.
STEP 1: The homeowner must first call the Public Works & Engineering Department at (847) 391-5464 to request an inspection/televising of the adjacent public sewer main and confirm that the main is not blocked and causing the back-up. The homeowner does not need to be present for this inspection. Any blockages discovered in the public sewer main will be cleared by the City or its contractors at no cost to the homeowner. The City's inspection will not extend to any private sanitary sewer laterals as the City does not inspect/televise homeowner's lateral sewer lines.
STEP 2: If a blockage in the public sewer main is not the cause of the back-up, the homeowner will be required to hire a sewer contractor/plumber to inspect/televise the homeowner's private sanitary sewer lateral. Upon request, the City will provide a list of licensed and bonded sewer repair contractors/plumbers. If the sewer contractor/plumber discovers a blockage located on the homeowner's property, the homeowner will be solely responsible for all costs associated with the maintenance, repair, or replacement of the sanitary sewer lateral. If, however, the blockage is determined to be in a portion of the sanitary sewer lateral located within the public right-of-way, the homeowner must contact the City's Plumbing Inspector at 847.391.5305 to verify this determination.
If the blockage of the sanitary sewer lateral is within the public right-of-way (or easement) and can be cleared by rodding, the City will provide a reimbursement of up to 30% of the rodding costs, up to a maximum reimbursement amount of $100.
If the blockage cannot be cleared by rodding and requires either repair or replacement of a portion of the sanitary sewer lateral with the public right-of-way (or easement) the City's Plumbing Inspector will either (a) obtain a quote from a sewer repair contractor or (b) authorize the homeowner's sewer contractor/plumber to proceed with the repair or replacement. The homeowner will be responsible for all up-front costs associated with the repair or replacement, but the City will provide a reimbursement of up to 30% of the repair/replacement costs, up to a maximum reimbursement amount of $4,000. For both rodding services and repair/replacement work, the City will require the homeowner provide the Plumbing Inspector with documentation that the rodding or repair/replacement work, including any necessary restoration of the public right-of-way, has been satisfactorily completed. The City reserves the right to conduct on-premises inspections of the rodding or repair/replacement work as a condition or releasing any reimbursement payments provided for under the Program. After providing the reimbursements described above, the City may issue a Form 1099- MISC to homeowners who have participated in the Program.
Questions regarding the Sanitary Sewer Lateral Program should be directed to Paul Berner, Plumbing Inspector (847) 391-5305.
(Ord. M-23-17, 11-20-2017)