Side Sewers: What Homeowners Are Actually Responsible For

If you’ve lived in Tacoma long enough, you’ve heard the horror story: sewage backing up into a basement during a rainstorm, or a soggy yard that just won’t dry out. When disaster strikes, most homeowners assume the city will handle it—after all, “sewer problems” sounds like city business, right?

Not quite.

Here’s the truth many Tacoma homeowners don’t realize until they’re ankle-deep in trouble: you own and maintain the side sewer line from your house to the city’s main. When something goes wrong with that line, the repair bill comes out of your pocket—not the city’s.

What Is a Side Sewer?

In plumbing terms, the side sewer (also called the lateral sewer or service line) runs underground from your home, across your yard (and possibly under your driveway or street), to connect at the city’s main sewer line.

• You maintain: the pipe from your house all the way to where it connects with the city main. That includes utility cleanouts, your yard, driveway piping (if any), and the section under or beside the street where your connection joins.
• The city maintains: the main sewer line and everything downstream toward the treatment plant.

So if tree roots invade your side sewer, or an old clay pipe collapses, that’s your problem. The city steps in only when the main line fails.

For homeowners in the Tacoma area served by Royal Flush Plumbing—especially in older neighborhoods where homes were built decades ago—this distinction matters.

Common Side Sewer Problems in Tacoma

Given Tacoma’s terrain, climate, and housing stock, several issues tend to crop up:

• Root intrusion: Mature trees (maples, alders, etc.) along Tacoma streets often have roots that seek moisture in aging sewer lines. They enter through cracks, joints and force major backups.
• Cracked, collapsed or deteriorating pipe material: Homes built before the 1970s may still have clay or underspecified pipe that gets brittle or corrodes.
• Slope and soil movement: Tacoma’s hills and shifting soils mean your side sewer may sag, creating low spots where waste pools and clogs form.
• Grease, oil and foreign-material buildup: Pouring fats down the drain, “flushable” wipes, or other materials can slowly cause major blockages—especially when combined with the above structural issues.

At Royal Flush Plumbing, we regularly diagnose these types of side-sewer problems during our drain-cleaning, pipe-repair, and camera-inspection services.

Signs Your Side Sewer Might Be Failing

If you see or smell any of the following, it’s time to call in a professional:

• Gurgling drains when you flush the toilet or run the washing machine.
• Sewage smell in your basement, crawl space or yard.
• Multiple fixtures backing up at once (for instance, the tub and laundry both slow).
• Soggy or persistently damp patches in your yard near where the side sewer runs.
• Sewage in your basement—especially during heavy rain.

If your toilet gurgles when you start the shower, or your basement floor drain backs up, you’re likely dealing with a side-sewer issue, not just a simple clogged sink.

Inspection and Repair Options

Here’s how Royal Flush Plumbing tackles these problems for Tacoma homeowners:

Camera inspection is the gold-standard diagnostic. We send a waterproof camera through your clean-out to record video of the pipe’s interior, revealing root intrusion, cracks, collapse or foreign-material buildup. This helps you make a data-driven decision instead of guessing.

Once we know what’s wrong, you have options:

• Spot repair: Ideal when damage is localized (for example a root press-through or small crack). Most cost-effective.
• Trenchless repair: Great for Tacoma yards. Methods like pipe-lining or pipe-bursting minimize excavation, protect landscaping or driveways, and complete faster.
• Full replacement: Makes sense when the entire side sewer is deteriorating—better than constant repeated repairs.

Because Royal Flush offers full plumbing services in Tacoma (not just drain cleaning) we can combine side sewer work with other

improvements (for example new sump pump, pipe repipe, or drain work) if necessary. 

Preventing Future Issues

You don’t have to wait for disaster. Here are proactive steps for Tacoma homeowners:

• Get your side sewer inspected every 3-5 years if your home is over 30 years old and has large trees nearby.
• Adopt good disposal habits:
• Never pour grease or cooking oil down the drain.
• Use sink strainers.
• Avoid “flushable” wipes—they often cause backups.
• Timing matters: Schedule an inspection or preventive cleaning in the fall before Tacoma’s heavy winter rains, to prevent January or February backups.

Don’t Wait for a Crisis

That slow drain today becomes a sewage backup tomorrow—often at 10 p.m. on a holiday weekend. At Royal Flush Plumbing we believe an upfront camera inspection can save thousands in emergency repair costs.

Whether you need routine cleaning, detailed inspection, or emergency repair of your side sewer, you don’t have to face it alone. Reach out to us—we serve Tacoma and surrounding South Sound areas.

Call now to schedule your inspection or drain cleaning service. Get ahead of the problem before it becomes a nightmare. Your side sewer is your responsibility—but you don’t have to handle it on your own.