What to do in the first ten minutes
Stop running water. No laundry, no dishwasher, no flushing: every gallon you send down comes back up at the lowest drain in the house. Keep children and pets away from the water. Then call us.
If you are on a city system, a call to public works is worth making too. Highland, for one, checks its own main for free before you pay anyone. When Mary Dohnal’s sewer backed up, it was a Saturday; when Jordyn Besserman called on a weekend in Collinsville, “Brandon was on-site within the next hour.”
Whose problem is it?
Usually the owner’s, and that surprises people. Granite City says the owner maintains the lateral all the way to the connection with the main, even when that connection is under the street. O’Fallon puts it bluntly: it is against the law for the city to work on private property. The city’s responsibility starts at its main.
Insurance and cleanup after a backup
Read your policy before the next storm. The Insurance Information Institute says sewer backups are not covered by a typical homeowners policy, or by flood insurance; the coverage is bought separately or as an endorsement. Belleville’s own guide for homeowners says the city is not automatically liable for a backup.