Sewer line repair in Frankford

Frankford homes and their sewer lines

Frankford started as a Quaker village around 1682 and was a manufacturing town from the start. A gristmill on Frankford Creek dates to the 1660s, and textile mills followed in the 1800s. Frankford became a borough in 1800 and joined the city in 1854. The Frankford El opened in 1922. Today most of the neighborhood is attached brick rowhouses.

Water shaped the neighborhood’s sewers. In the early 1900s, the City buried several local streams, including Wingohocking Creek, Rock Run and Little Tacony Creek, in combined sewers. Frankford Creek itself now runs in a concrete channel from Juniata Park to the Delaware. PWD’s watershed plan says about 47% of the Tookany/Tacony-Frankford watershed is served by combined sewers.

Common sewer problems we hear about in Frankford

• Older clay and cast iron laterals under rowhouse sidewalks
• Rain-related backups in combined-sewer blocks, especially in low spots near the old creek beds
• Tree roots in cracked joints
• Rear-alley drain lines and shared connections behind older rows

What to know before you fix it

If your Frankford basement floods in big storms, write down the dates and take photos, then call PWD’s hotline at (215) 685-6300 while the water is still there. That record helps when you apply to the free Basement Backup Protection Program. For dry-weather backups or a clog that keeps coming back, a camera inspection shows whether the problem is roots, a crack or a sag.

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 Frankford

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

Nearby: Port Richmond · Northeast Philadelphia · 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.