Sewer line repair in Webster Groves
About a third of the homes in Webster Groves went up before 1940. Its lateral program will pay as much as $8,000 for work under the street, and its rules describe that repair as digging.
The houses
The Census Bureau puts 35% of Webster Groves' housing before 1940 and 68% before 1960, with a median build year of 1952. A lateral that has never been replaced is as old as the house it serves. For most houses here, that means 65 years or more in the ground.
The city's program
You find the contractor. The city asks for three bids, itemized so material, equipment and labor are shown separately, and it approves one in writing before any work starts. Then it pays 80% of the low bid, capped at $3,500, and the cap rises to $8,000 for work under the street. Coverage begins 3 to 5 feet out from the foundation. Nothing beneath the house counts.
Under the program page, your contractor handles the digging, fixing or replacing the bad section, filling the trench, and seed and straw. It says nothing about lining, for or against.
If one of your three bids is for lining, ask Public Works in writing whether 80% of that bid qualifies before you sign anything. The itemized format helps here: a lining bid and a digging bid laid out the same way show exactly where the money goes.
Who to call
- A backup coming from the public sewer: MSD, 314-768-6260. MSD inspects to see whether it qualifies for MSD's help.
- Questions about the program: the City of Webster Groves, 314-963-5300.
- The lateral itself belongs to the owner, all the way to the main.
A sewer line in Webster Groves?
The company that answers this number can put a camera in the line and quote both lining and digging.
314-274-1839