On Christmas Eve, 2017, Columbia Water staff was alerted to a possible sanitary sewer overflow (SSO) from a City-owned sewer line running through a customer’s backyard. Columbia Water takes sewer backups and service disruptions very seriously, which is why staff responded within two hours, removing the blockage and implementing clean-up measures. The customer followed up with two further reports of SSOs, but staff could not find evidence of these additional overflows.
While Columbia Water addressed the main concern on the 24th, staff discovered there was no city clean-out and a portion of the sewer main serving the customer was showing signs of wear but had not yet failed. Staff wanted to address these system issues that could have turned into future problems, which is why work has continued on the property. Installing a clean-out will make access easier should Columbia Water need it in the future. Repairing the degraded pipe would help prevent future pipe failure.
Repairing sewer lines generally means digging in the ground, and this process is always complicated when other underground utilities run nearby. Unfortunately, repairing sewer lines that run through backyards also makes the intrusion on our customers more significant. We understand how frustrating utility repairs can be for customers, which is why we always appreciate our customers’ patience while we address these types of situations.
Columbia Water also recognizes that repairing the problem does not end at replacing the pipe. Our policy is to restore grass within our utility right-of-ways to the previous conditions. We also refer customers with additional property issues that might be related to work we have done to our third party claims adjustor so any further repairs that might be needed can be covered.
In the interest of transparency, Columbia Water is providing the following timeline for the repairs to the customer in the Coldstream area:
12/24 (Christmas Eve. Response handled by after-hours crews.) – The customer reported a sanitary sewer overflow (SSO) to Columbia Water that evening. Columbia Water staff responded the same evening. They confirmed and addressed a 40 gallon sanitary sewer overflow (SSO):
- Staff worked within the City sewer right of way that runs through customer’s backyard.
- The SSO was caused by a grease blockage. Crew washed the city-owned portion of the service line and 200 feet of main line to remove the blockage.
- Standard practice to clean up the site after an SSO is to spread lime to disinfect the area. Staff spread lime on the spill.
- Standard practice whenever there is an SSO is to schedule a line inspection to make sure there are not further blockages or other line issues. A work order was created for a closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera crew to inspect the line.
- Staff noted that there was no sewer clean-out for the city-owned portion of the sewer lateral. Columbia Water policy is to install such clean-outs if we find them missing. A work order was created to install a City clean-out.
12/28 – A Columbia Water CCTV crew was dispatched to video the main line. The video confirmed the blockage was caused by grease and had been removed on the 24th.
1/6 (Saturday. Response handled by after-hours crews.) – The customer reported an SSO to Columbia Water in the morning. After hours crew responded that same morning and found:
- The sewer lateral serving the house did not have a back-up or evidence of an SSO.
- The sewer main serving the sewer lateral did not have a back-up or evidence of an SSO.
- During the investigation, staff noted that a portion of the main line in the area was showing wear and needed to be replaced but was not actively causing an SSO. Because staff did not find either an active SSO or evidence of an SSO, this work was not considered an emergency repair. It was entered into the normal repair workflow.
1/10 – Columbia Water requested a utility locate from SC811 to identify any active utilities so work could be scheduled to repair the pipe. This is currently an office-based, manual process. We are working on process improvements that will allow field staff to use a faster mobile work order process in the future.
1/16 – The customer reported an SSO to Columbia Water that morning. Columbia Water staff responded that same morning and found:
- The sewer lateral serving the house did not have a back-up or evidence of an SSO.
- The sewer main serving the sewer lateral did not have a back-up or evidence of an SSO.
- Staff washed the sewer lateral and 75 feet of main line out of an abundance of caution.
1/16 – During the repair process, the customer raised concerns about walking through the SSO and tracking it into his house. Columbia Water staff referred him to the city’s third-party claims adjustor for additional property clean-up work and repair.
1/17 – Utility locate results cleared the site for digging. Non-emergency utility locate results can take a minimum of 3-4 business days before work can start.
1/18 – The city clean-out was installed, and Columbia Water staff followed-up with additional site clean-up.
1/19 – Columbia Water staff began the mainline repair.
- An active phone line was damaged during the investigation. The phone line utility was notified about the need for repair, and they instituted their repair process.
- An abandoned power line was discovered during the excavation that had not been identified by the utility locate. The electrical utility was notified of the line. Work had to stop on site, and power was cut off in the surrounding area out of an abundance of caution while the electrical utility determined the line had been abandoned.
1/22 – As of today, all repairs to the sewer system on this site have been completed. Repairs to the yard are underway.
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Columbia Water is the drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater utility owned and operated by the City of Columbia, SC. For more information, visit www.columbiasc.net/utilities-engineering.