Who Owns the Sewer Line in Winston-Salem?

The parts of a sewer connection

• Building drain: the pipes inside and under the house that collect waste from fixtures.
• Service line (lateral): the pipe from the house to the public sewer main, through your yard and usually under part of the street or an easement.
• Cleanout: a capped pipe that gives access to the line. Many homes have one near the foundation; some have a courtesy cleanout at the edge of the public right-of-way.
• Sewer main: the public pipe the utility owns and maintains.

What Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Utilities says

The utility's Sewer Backup Policy & Responsibilities sheet lays out the process (WSFC Utilities, Sewer Backup Policy & Responsibilities):

1. Any resident connected to public sewer who has a backup should immediately call City Link at 311 or 336-727-8000.
2. Utility staff investigate and clean any accessible portion of the home's service line within the public right-of-way at no cost to the homeowner.
3. If a courtesy cleanout exists at the edge of the right-of-way, staff will clean and repair it as a courtesy if needed.
4. If the service line to the right-of-way is not blocked (no water visible at the cleanout), or no cleanout is found, the homeowner must hire a plumber.
5. The plumber must clear the blockage all the way to the sewer main, not just to the cleanout, and then camera-inspect the service line. Evidence of damage within the right-of-way goes to a WSFC Utilities Field Operations Supervisor.

After reporting a backup, the property owner arranges cleanup. The utility does not recommend or hire contractors on a homeowner's behalf.

The Good Neighbor Policy

For residential customers, the utility's Good Neighbor Policy can help with a qualifying sewer backup, defined as a first-time occurrence caused by a blockage in the sewer main, not in a home's service line. Staff review submitted cleanup costs and reimburse those that are reasonable and related to cleaning up the backup. The utility strongly recommends calling City Link before cleanup starts; waiting can hurt a claim (WSFC Utilities Good Neighbor Policy).

What this means in practice

• Call 311 first, even if you are sure the problem is yours. It costs nothing and establishes the timeline.
• Stop using water until the line is clear.
• If you hire a plumber, make sure the line is cleared all the way to the main and camera-inspected, and keep the video and invoice.
• Photograph damage before cleanup and call your homeowners insurer. Sewer backup coverage is often a separate endorsement.
• Consider a cleanout if your home does not have an accessible one. It makes future clogs faster and easier to clear.

Preventing backups

The city says about a third of all sewer backups are caused by grease and wipes. Its "Can the Grease" and "No Wipes in Pipes" campaigns ask residents to put cooled grease in a can and throw wipes in the trash, flushing only toilet paper (City of Winston-Salem, Can the Grease; City of Winston-Salem, No Wipes in Pipes). If your main line has clogged more than once, a camera inspection shows whether roots, a crack or a sag is the cause. See sewer line repair.

Outside the utility's sewer area

If your home is on a septic system, there is no public main involved. The line from the house to the tank, the tank itself and the drain field are all the owner's responsibility.

Related services

• Sewer Line Repair: Sewer camera inspections, root intrusion, broken laterals and sewer line replacement.
• Drain Cleaning: Slow sinks, backed-up tubs and main-line clogs, including root problems in older laterals.
• Emergency Plumber: Burst pipes, overflowing toilets, sewer backups and leaking water heaters: what to do right now.

Sources: WSFC Utilities, Sewer Backup Policy & Responsibilities; WSFC Utilities Good Neighbor Policy; City of Winston-Salem, Can the Grease; City of Winston-Salem, No Wipes in Pipes.