Wednesday, January 14, 2009 10:26 PM CST
Public Works director recommends insurance in case of sewer backups
By ROB STROUD, Staff Writer
rstroud@jg-tc.com
CHARLESTON — Almost annually, city utility crews encounter a sanitary sewer line that has backed up into someone’s basement, said Public Works Director Curt Buescher.
Every time this has happened in recent years, the homeowners have been unaware that insurance is available that could have covered the damage to their basements and the personal belongings there, Buescher said.
With these situations in mind, Buescher said he wants to spread the word that homeowners with basements can get supplemental insurance coverage for backups of sewage and storm water.
Buescher said a sanitary sewer backup can be a major expense, particularly if it damages a furnace or living space in a basement. He said having sewage flow into a finished basement or one in which valued possessions are stored is also emotionally distressing for homeowners.
“I’ve talked to people who are just in tears,” Buescher recalled.
Buescher said the lowest supplemental for backups offered by his personal provider, Pekin Insurance, is $35 a year for $5,000 of coverage. He advised people to talk to their providers. He said backups in homes without basements should be covered by regular homeowner insurance.
Dick Stark, a State Farm agent in Charleston, said Stage Farm offers supplemental insurance for backups in basements ranging from $4 to $20 per month. He said the coverage ranges from $5,000 to $10,000, with some policies excluding contents and others including them.
Stark said whether a homeowner needs supplemental insurance for backups depends on if they have a basement, if the basement is finished, if they have any special elevation issues regarding storm water drainage, and if they have a sump pump in place.
“If you have a basement, you should have this conversation with your insurance company,” Stark said. “If a person has a finished basement and they have a sump pump they need to have this coverage, plain and simple. A sump pump is an indication you do have a water situation.”
Buescher said the Illinois tort immunity laws give cities protection from liability in cases where backups from municipal sanitary sewer lines are caused by line problems of which the cities were not already aware.
The city only has the manpower to inspect one-fourth of its 75 miles of sanitary sewers per year, Buescher said, adding this inspection schedule is approved by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. He said homeowners should have insurance ready in case backups occur.
Stark said he has had success over the years getting compensation from the city’s insurance providers in some cases where sewage from the city’s lines has backed up into his clients’ basements.
Whenever a sewer line backup occurs, Buescher said, city utility crews help locate the source of the blockage. He said they clear the blockage if it is in a city line and can recommend plumbers if the blockage is on the homeowner’s property.
Utility crews can also recommend cleaning companies for clearing out the mess caused by a backup, Buescher said.
According to Buescher, blockages are commonly caused by tree or shrub roots, grease buildup, line breakdowns, storm water infiltration after heavy rains, and foreign objects in the lines. He said a small object, such as a stick, can cause a blockage to develop over many months.
Homeowners can prevent blockages on their own properties by ensuring roots do not penetrate their sanitary sewer lateral lines and by not putting anything unnecessary down the drain, Buescher said. He added homeowners will still be at risk to blockages outside of their properties.
“Just because you have a (backup) problem does not mean you caused the problem,” Buescher said.
Contact Rob Stroud at rstroud@jg-tc.com or 348-5734.
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Mike P wrote on Jan 15, 2009 11:06 AM:
I know of a residence, whose basement rarely got more than a little seepage through its walls, for decades. Soon after a poorly designed road addition, two feet or more of water began to come with heavy rains, out of the sewer line to boot. City is not liable, if their poor engineering, causes issues on private property. Had to get back flow prevention valves, and install a sump pump, in a basement that never needed either, for four or five decades prior. Flooding still can be an issue, if the valve gets stuck open, or power is out, so the sump pump isn't running.
City was informed, and its not really our problem, we aren't liable, was the response. Years since it began, the owners still have to keep one eye on the basement, anytime it rains much. Even post additional insurance, and other measures to prevent it, its a hassle of one kind or another that shouldn't have happened in the first place.
It is against the law, to divert water off your property to someone elses. Why that doesn't apply to a city when doing road construction, and not properly upgrading its drainage system, to make up for its poorly engineered humped or widened roads, is something that may eventually need addressed in court. When enough folks get back flow flooding, their might be a class action possible, to bring foreward. "