Preventing Basement Backups

Following are tips to help reduce the likelihood of basement backups during heavy rainfalls:

• Have your private lateral line insepcted by a licensed plumbing contractor once a year.
• Clean your private lateral line regularly.
• Flush root eliminator products down your toilet They can be purchased at most hardware stores.
• Never flush diapers, feminine hygiene products, or non-toilet paper materials down your toilet
• Recycle newspapers, glass, plastic bags and other materials to reduce waste. Recycling helps keeps trash from being washed into the sewer system, possibly resulting in a blockage.
• Recycle yard waste or use it to make compost. Raking leaves and grass into streets allows yard waste to wash into storm sewers, causing blockages and possible street flooding.
• Trash around storm water drains should be removed. If the street requires cleaning, the city or municipality responsible for maintaining them should be contacted.
• Properly dispose of yard waste (grass clippings and leaves) to avoid it from traveling to storm drains and causing backup.
• Oil, grease, paint, or any hazardous chemicals should never be placed in sanitary drain and/or washed into inlets or other sewer structures.
• Sump pumps, drain tile, downspouts, yard or driveway drains should never be piped to sanitary sewer lines. A sump pump is a small pump installed in basements or low areas. When water reaches a certain depth in the sump, a float will rise to turn on the pump.
• A drain tile is a pipe that is typically perforated and installed around the perimeter of the basement floor. Groundwater flows into the drain tile, which is connected to the sump pump.
• A downspout is the vertical rectangular tube attach to the roof gutter allowing rainwater to flow down.
• Swales or detention areas should never be graded, filled in or built over since storm water flow can be affected. Swales are graded low areas in yards to control and direct the flow of storm water to inlets, creeks, etc.
• Pools, buildings, decks, etc. should never be built over storm or sanitary sewers easements. If unavoidable, the homeowner should contact MSD and request an encroachment. Structures should not be built prior to MSD authorizing the encroachment.

For more information, contact (314) 768-6260.