Sewer Line Repair in Washington Township / Sewell, NJ

The failures we dig up here

Three causes account for most of the Washington Township laterals we open:

• Bellies — a section that sank below grade and now holds water and solids, so the same blockage keeps coming back.
• Crushed pipe under later additions — a widened driveway, shed pad, patio or pool deck poured over a shallow line.
• Roots at fittings — trees planted with the houses are now full-grown and find any loose joint.

Camera first, every time

We run a camera the full length of the lateral, not just to the first obstruction, and note distance and depth as we go. Long, gently sloped runs are common on these lots, and the difference between one bad fitting and sixty feet of settled pipe is only visible on the footage. You see what we see before we quote.

Fixing it so it stays fixed

For a single defect, we excavate at that point, cut out the damaged section and couple in new pipe. For a belly, we re-lay the affected length on compacted bedding at the correct fall — correcting the original backfill rather than repeating it. When the camera shows defects along the whole run, we replace the lateral to the public connection.

Digging in Washington Township soil

Much of the township is sandy loam over clay. Sand won't stand on its own at depth, so deeper trenches get shoring or a trench box. The clay layers hold water after storms, and lower ground toward the Grenloch and Mantua Creek drainages is wetter still, so wet-season digs often need a pump on site. Where developments were built on cut-and-fill, we expect uneven subgrade and compact carefully in lifts when the trench goes back in.

Who handles what: the WTMUA and your lateral

Sewer service in town is run by the Washington Township Municipal Utilities Authority (WTMUA), and wastewater is treated by the Gloucester County Utilities Authority (GCUA). Generally, the homeowner is responsible for the lateral from the house to the public connection and the authority maintains the main. If the problem sits near that connection, we check with the WTMUA before digging. If several neighbors are backing up at once, call the WTMUA first — that points to the main.

Permits

Lateral work requires a township permit, and work that reaches the street needs right-of-way approval. We file the paperwork, coordinate with the WTMUA where needed and schedule the inspection before backfill.

Water service lines too

The WTMUA also supplies water in the township. A broken water service keeps running, soaks the ground and can undermine a driveway or walk, so it's often the more urgent of the two. We locate the leak, coordinate the shut-off and replace the private side from the curb stop to the house.

Driveway and yard restoration

When a line runs under concrete, we saw-cut a clean trench, then pour the replacement section on a compacted base at proper thickness. We self-perform concrete, so restoration isn't handed off after the pipe work. Lawns are graded and seeded back to match.