What Is A Sewer Lateral Inspection

The sewer lateral is an essential component of your house since it links to the main sewage line. This plumbing system component ensures that waste from your home is safely discharged to the street sewer main. This system allows your home to dispose of toilet waste, sink water, and bathroom water by directing it through drains and sewer pipes. As part of your home’s well-being, it is advised that these systems be evaluated regularly to verify that they are functioning properly.

Why It’s Necessary

Sewer laterals become unclean with time, resulting in congestion, clogging, and, in rare circumstances, line damage. When these lines are compromised, your home faces property damage. Back-up waste can create flooding and spills in your home. The resulting chaos can be hazardous to one’s health. These inspections assist you in identifying potential problems in the system so that you can make repairs and avert additional damage. Remember that the homeowner is liable for the portion of the sewage lateral known as the private sewer lateral. This can sometimes mean the entire sewer lateral from the property to the main.

Benefits

Sewer lateral inspections can be performed by homeowners using a variety of approaches. One simple method is to insert cable-like equipment and push it into the pipe. This looks for and clears any obstructions found. It does not, however, detect leaks or cracks. Video and camera examinations are useful in this situation. This sophisticated equipment is placed into the pipe and photographs or films every stage of the sewer line. It consists of a camera head attached to the end of a flexible fiberglass push rod.

Inspections of Lateral Launch Crawlers

Robotic CCTV crawlers with lateral launch capabilities are perfect for lateral inspections from the closest manhole. These crawlers feature at least two cameras: one on the main crawler body to observe as you drive up the sewage main and another satellite camera that can be deployed into the adjacent lateral to provide operators with clear visibility into its condition.

Push cameras are more typically used when inspecting from a cleanout in the house or on the property. The type of equipment utilized is often determined by the inspector’s access to the lateral and the number of laterals to be inspected.

Identifying Threats

Signs of inflow and infiltration (I&I) are the most commonly identified issues during lateral inspections. Because sanitary sewer systems are designed to only convey waste from toilets, sinks, and showers, I&I can add additional groundwater or rainwater to the system, threatening overflow and reducing the city’s treatment capacity. Sanitary sewer overflows can release untreated sewage into streets, parks, and bodies of water, exposing residents to microorganisms and putting them at risk of sickness.

Aside from I&I, operators examine for additional faults in the lateral, such as cracks, clogs, and symptoms of deterioration. They also look for cross bores to ensure that other utilities installed with trenchless technology haven’t been drilled into the lateral, causing structural damage, an increased likelihood of blockages, and, in extreme cases, the risk of an explosion if a gas line crosses bore is breached within a sewer lateral.

Reach Out to Us Today!

New Flow Plumbing has made it simple to inspect sewer laterals. We utilize sewer camera technology to inspect sewer laterals in order to ensure they are free of defects before they are repaired. We advise homeowners to schedule inspections at least once a year to ensure that their sewer laterals are in good working order.