Sewer Line Repair in Garden Grove, CA

Signs Your Garden Grove Sewer Line Is Failing, Not Just Clogged

A clog clears and stays cleared. A failing line keeps coming back. If you have been to the same drain more than once this year, the pipe is probably telling you something.

Inside the house

• Several drains slow at the same time, not just one sink
• Gurgling in a tub or shower when the toilet flushes or the washer drains
• Toilet bubbling, or water rising in the lowest fixture when you run another one
• A sewage smell near a floor drain, in the garage or around the bathroom
• A backup that clears with a snake and returns within weeks

Outside the house

• Soggy or unusually green patches in the front yard or along the path of the line
• A sunken strip of lawn, driveway or walkway where the pipe runs
• Sewage smell near the cleanout or the curb
• Cracks in the slab or a damp spot at the foundation that has no other explanation
• Rodents or insects showing up near drains, which can mean a broken pipe

When to stop calling it a clog

If the symptoms are in more than one fixture, if a snake only gives you days of relief, or if you see any of the yard signs above, book a camera inspection. A drain cleaning treats the symptom. The camera shows the cause.

Repair Options: Spot Repair, Lining, Pipe Bursting or Open Trench

There is no single best method. The right one depends on what the camera shows, how deep the pipe is, and what sits on top of it: a lawn, a driveway, a patio, a block wall or a garage slab. Here is how we sort it out.

When each one fits

• Spot (section) repair: one damaged stretch, such as a cracked joint or a short collapsed piece, with the rest of the pipe in good shape. It is the smallest job when the camera backs it up.
• Trenchless lining: the pipe has cracks, root entry or rough walls but is still in line and not collapsed. A resin-coated liner is pulled through and cured in place. It needs very little digging, usually at the access points.
• Pipe bursting: the old pipe is too far gone to line, but the path is straight enough to pull a new pipe through as the old one is broken up. It keeps most of the yard intact.
• Open trench replacement: the pipe has collapsed, has a severe belly or offset, or has to be re-graded or re-routed. Digging is the way to get the slope right.

When we won’t push a method

• If lining won’t hold because the pipe has collapsed or sagged, we say so and don’t sell it to you anyway.
• If a dig is the better fix, we don’t talk you into trenchless just because it sounds easier.
• If the camera shows the pipe is sound and the real problem is a clog, we tell you that too.

Under a driveway, a patio or a tree

Many Garden Grove lots have a driveway, a patio or a block wall between the house and the street. Trenchless methods can often work from the cleanout and one access point so you don’t have to break it all up. Whether that works on your lot depends on the pipe, and the camera is what tells us.

What a repair looks like at your home

No two lots are the same, but the order of the work is. This is what you can expect from us.

• Before we start: we find your cleanout or the best way into the line, run the camera, show you the footage, and give you a written price after the inspection with the method and scope spelled out
• Getting ready: we go over what needs to be moved or protected, like a car in the driveway, a gate or a sprinkler line, and permits and utility marking are handled before any digging starts
• During the work: we keep the work area tight and protect what we can, including the lawn, the driveway edge and your walkway. Water to the house may need to be off for part of the day, and we tell you when
• After the work: we run a second camera pass or a flow check so you can see the new section working, clean up and restore the work area as agreed in writing, and give you the footage and paperwork for your records. If the city requires an inspection, we coordinate it with you

Who Maintains What: City Sewer vs Your Lateral

The city’s own sewer page is clear on the basics. The Garden Grove Sanitary District handles sewer service, and the Sanitation Section of the Water Services Division, part of Public Works, maintains the public system: more than 312 miles of sewer line, about 9,700 manholes and four lift stations. Property owners are responsible for maintaining, repairing and cleaning the sewer lateral that runs from the house to the public sewer. After the wastewater leaves the city system, the Orange County Sanitation District treats it, and it is then recycled or discharged to the ocean, according to the city.

• The city (Garden Grove Sanitary District): the public sewer mains, manholes and lift stations
• You, the owner: the lateral from the house to the public sewer, including repair and cleaning
• Orange County Sanitation District: treatment after the wastewater leaves the city system

Is the problem on my side or the city’s?

• Backup inside the house, only one drain or one bathroom group: usually the lateral or the house plumbing. This is yours to fix.
• Backup in every drain at once, or sewage coming up in the lowest tub or shower: the blockage is somewhere on the main line, and it could be the lateral or the public main. A camera tells us which.
• Sewage in the street, or a manhole overflowing: that is the public system. Call the city’s Public Works main office at (714) 741-5375 right away.
• Neighbors on your block have the same backup: that points to the main. Tell Public Works, and ask us to document your lateral so you can show it is clear.

Who to call for a public sewer overflow

If sewage is coming out of a manhole or running in the street, that is a public sewer issue. The city lists the Public Works main office at (714) 741-5375 for overflows and spills. The Municipal Service Center, the Public Works division, is at 13802 Newhope Street, (714) 741-5395. City Hall is at 11222 Acacia Parkway, (714) 741-5000.

After an overflow: the camera inspection rule

The city’s sewer page lists Ordinance No. 8, which covers inspection and replacement of private sewer facilities after a sewage overflow. A 2008 District staff report on a proposed private lateral ordinance describes a similar rule. It does not name the ordinance by number, so check the current wording with the District. The report says when the District finds that an overflow reached public property or someone else’s private property, the owner of the lateral has to have it inspected with a closed-circuit camera, and any needed repairs or replacement are the owner’s responsibility. The report ties the rule to a settlement with Orange County Coastkeeper and says damaged private laterals are the leading cause of overflows.

We can’t speak for the District, and the details of how it applies to your property are theirs to say. If you get a notice, call the District first and bring it to us. A camera inspection is how we start every job, so we can give you the footage and findings in a form you can hand over.

Where We Work in Garden Grove: ZIP Codes and Neighborhoods

We work across Garden Grove’s ZIP codes: 92840, 92841, 92843, 92844 and 92845. Some of those codes are shared with neighboring cities, so check the city on your address if you are near the edge. That includes homes around: Garden Grove is part of our Central Orange County service area, and we also work in nearby Santa Ana, Westminster and Stanton.

• Historic Main Street and Village Green, the brick-lined former town center near the Gem Theatre. The city describes Main Street as the early-1900s center of town, and some of its historic buildings survived the 1933 earthquake
• Civic Center and Acacia Parkway, where City Hall is
• The SR-22 corridor and the Garden Grove Auto Center
• The Little Saigon area, which the city’s District 4 reaches into
• Neighborhoods near Haster Basin, Chapman Sports Complex and Christ Cathedral

We also do sewer work in nearby Cypress, Anaheim, Buena Park and Fullerton.

Sewage Backing Up? What to Do in the First Hour

• Stop running water. No laundry, dishwasher or showers until you know where the blockage is.
• Don’t pour chemical drain cleaner into a line that may be cracked or full. It does not fix roots and it can hurt whoever opens the line next.
• Note what is backing up. Write down which fixtures are slow or backed up and roughly when it started. It saves us time on the camera.
• Check the street. If sewage is in the street or at a manhole, call Public Works at (714) 741-5375 first.
• Call us at (833) 652-4748. We will tell you what to do next and get a camera on the line.