“Hey, What’s that Smell?” The Story Behind St. Pete Beach’s Sewer Repair

St. Pete Beach has an expensive sewer repair issue, and the bulk of the problem is due to neglect in repair and maintenance over time. A sewer system needs to be maintained just like a car or other mechanical equipment. When maintenance is neglected, the price to bring it back up to code can be expensive. In fact, it will usually be more expensive than it would have been if the money was spent on maintenance when it was needed. St. Pete Beach now faces a cost of more than two millions dollars to repair their sewer system.

One area of neglect has been the sewage pumps. They have just recently failed, and this resulted in untreated sewage spilling out into the streets of the city. The problem was so bad that the Environmental Protection Agency got involved, and fines to the city may be issued. This only adds to the cost of neglect to the sewer system.

What Can this Teach Us about Home Sewage Backups?

The lessons learned from St. Pete Beach can be applied to your own home. Although your home does not have a sewer system as elaborate, there is a main drain line that connects your home to the city’s sewer system. If this is not the case, then you have a septic tank instead. In either case, maintenance is essential to avoid the need for sewage backup cleanup. With a main drain line, roots from nearby trees and bushes can find their way into the sewer line and stop up the line. This will result in a dangerous sewage backup in your home.

Sometimes this can happen suddenly, but at other times you will notice that the toilets are flushing slowly, and some of the drains are also slow. Occasionally, you may notice a small sewage backup that drains quickly after it appears. When this happens, call a professional sewage backup company for assistance. If you are already aware of a problem with roots, then you need to have your main line cleaned out at regular intervals. You may even want to consider removing the tree or bush if it can be identified.

What can You Do to Prevent Sewage Backup Problems?

Even when your main line is clear, the city can have a backed up sewer line than can dump raw sewage into your home. Sometimes this can happen during a rain storm, but as you can plainly see from the incident in St. Pete Beach, the sewer system can deteriorate over time. This is why it is important to have a sewage back flow valve installed in your home. This protects your property from experiencing any backup of sewage that is coming from the city line. With a sewage back flow valve installed, you will also be protecting your family from exposure to dangerous bacteria that is found in untreated sewage.

If you find yourself in a situation where there is sewage backing up in your home, don’t try to clean it up yourself.  Category three sewage is full of harmful bacteria that can make you sick, and the damaged area must be properly disinfected.