It isn’t often that you hear about a sewer line being damaged by wind, but it did happen in New Brighton.
On August 18, a storm moved through that blew over a tree that raised a sewer line out of the ground via the tree’s roots. Some residents living close to the affected line stated on August 19 that they were not yet having any issues with their sewer systems. At that point, New Brighton officials had not told residents to refrain from flushing toilets. Residents were not sure how they would feel if their sewer service would be disrupted.
Uprooted trees do cause sewer lines to come to the surface or break more often than many in the Twin Cities think. Tree roots continue to grow and sometimes they can burrow below the lines or they can actually infiltrate the line, causing it to leak. Tree roots that have grown into sewer lines is one of the most common problems that residents face with the lines on their own property.
In the case of New Brighton, this was a city sewer line and many residents were questioning what would happen if they were told they could not use their sewer service. This would affect both the use of toilets and drains. Because of this, a great number of hardships could be caused for the homeowners in the area in regards to such things as showering,
When sewer lines are compromised, they can result in the leakage of sewer into the ground and up to the surface. This can cause contamination and it is dangerous. Both people and animals can become ill if they are exposed to raw sewage in any way. This is why it is very important to get sewage leaking from a line under control through sewer line repair.
As for the sewer line that was pulled out of the grounds by the tree roots, it will need to be put back in place so that there is no risk of sewage breaking free on the surface. This, of course, will need to be done after it is determined that the line isn’t damaged. If the line isn’t damaged, it will need to be repaired before it goes back into the ground. When it goes back into the ground, it will need to be done so very carefully so that no breaks occur. If a break occurs and it is found out later that there is a problem, then the line will need to be dug back up, repaired or replaced, and then set back into the ground again. How much disruption this would cause to the residents in the neighborhood is not yet known, if there will be any real disruption.
