Sewer line repair in Center City

Center City homes and their sewer lines

Center City has every kind of old Philadelphia house. The City’s Philadelphia Rowhouse Manual describes tiny trinity and bandbox houses in Society Hill and Old City, workingman’s rows on the side streets, and “urban mansions” around Rittenhouse Square. Those mansions are three or four stories tall, 18 to 22 feet wide, and some have carriage houses out back. Many have been split into apartments or converted back to single homes, sometimes more than once.

All of it drains into the city’s oldest combined sewers. PWD names Center City among the low-lying areas most affected by rain-driven basement backups.

Common sewer problems we hear about in Center City

• Laterals under busy streets, where opening the roadway means traffic-control permits and higher restoration costs
• Old laterals that run under a neighbor’s house, a court or a rear alley
• Carriage houses and rear buildings tied into the main house’s line
• Rain-related backups through basement fixtures

What to know before you fix it

Excavating a Center City street is slow and expensive, so trenchless repair is often worth pricing here. Ask for a camera inspection with a locator first so the plumber knows exactly where the line runs and what it is made of. If you have basement fixtures you don’t use, the Rowhouse Manual suggests removing or plugging them so an overloaded sewer can’t back up through them. PWD’s backwater valve program is another option. See how it works.

The rules are the same citywide

In every Philadelphia neighborhood, the owner is responsible for the house drain, curb trap, lateral and the connection to the sewer. A licensed plumber must do the work, and PWD can issue a Notice of Defect with a deadline to fix it. Eligible owners can spread the cost over 60 months at zero interest with the HELP loan. Read the PWD & HELP guide · See typical costs · Problems in older Philly homes

Services in Center City

• Sewer line replacement
• Trenchless sewer repair
• Sewer camera inspection
• Sewer backup & emergencies
• Lateral, curb trap & main line issues

Nearby: Queen Village · Fairmount · All neighborhoods

We are a free referral service, not a plumber. We connect you with an independent, licensed Philadelphia plumber who quotes and does the work.