Need help requesting City/County to install a sewer line??

Question

Hello BP

I have rentals in an older neighborhood which is connected to the city sewer line, except for 1 street. Not sure why that is. I happen to have 2 of my rentals on that street. I've spoken to a few of the neighbors and we are all very interested in converting from septic to sewer. I have tried contacting the city water department and they sent me to the waste disposal dept. Its been 2 weeks and they have yet to return my calls. I emailed them, and they simply replied with a short message stating there is no sewer line available on my street and there are no plans  to install one in the near future. DUH!! They have not responded to my follow up emails either. I'm stuck and in need of assistance as to what to do next. I've thought of setting up a petition asking the homeowners to sign. Not sure how to go about that. Would appreciate any advice anyone has towards this scenario. Look forward to your responses. TIA

Deanna McCormick · Answer

Go to a city council meeting and ask the question in open forum. and call your city council member for your district for help.

@Jd Martin had super info and explore that also.

JD Martin · Answer

Depends on the municipality but most of the time if you are not in city limits, you are going to have to pay for installing that line yourself. If you are in city limits, there's generally an expectation of fair provision of service, meaning that everyone within the municipal boundaries are entitled to the same services, and if sewer service is a city-offered service it should qualify.

The question becomes more complex if your water/sewer is handled by a private entity or another municipality. With city-owned services, however, it is usually a big money loser if the city spends dollars to construct a sewer line to serve your street. Rates are rarely high enough anywhere to come anywhere close to recovering the cost of construction and maintenance except after many, many decades. I would bet, however, that if you and your neighbors all agreed to pay for the line, unless it has to be pumped, the sewer services would agree to accept it into the system.