This past spring, northwest Tucson resident Christopher Hulme noticed that water was backing up into his shower.
He called a sewer-maintenance company to clean the sewer line, and workers pulled out wads of roots that had infiltrated the line leading to his home, known as a house connection sewer. A second attempt to clean out the line resulted in equipment — known as a snake — getting stuck in the line, where it remains today.
With the help of Michael Ginsburg, owner of Buildcoach Consulting, Hulme pursued the possibility of the county picking up the tab for repairs, as a county ordinance requires when certain conditions are met.
After several months of back-and-forth, the county sent a letter with its final determination on July 11: “While the county sympathizes with Mr. Hulme’s plight, it cannot repair the damage to the HCS.”
The months-long conflict between Hulme, Ginsburg and the county, detailed in correspondence provided to the Arizona Daily Star by Ginsburg, reveals the potentially high costs and frustrations faced by homeowners when sewer lines fail, which few homeowners consider until there is a problem. Hulme said that quotes to fix his line range from $10,000 to $30,000, costs he said his insurer won’t cover. A county official said the range seemed high.
While Ginsburg and Hulme beg to differ, the county also made clear that its position is that an HCS line is the exclusive property and responsibility of homeowners, even portions of the line that run under public rights of way to the collection lines.
“We believe our interpretation of our own ordinance is consistent with our intent, the county’s intent, and our prior practice, as well as general industry practice,” said Jackson Jenkins, director of the wastewater reclamation department. “And we stand behind that interpretation.”
A county ordinance defines an HCS as “the private sewer between the residential building and the public or private collection sewer,” and states that “the owner of residential property owns and shall be responsible for the cleanout, repair, and replacement of the house connection sewer serving said property.”
Ginsburg, in contrast, argues that a portion of the HCS, running from the main line to Hulme’s property line, is part of the public system and therefore the responsibility of the county.
Either way, the county does make a distinction between sections of connection sewers under public rights of way, like the road running past Hulme’s home, and those running under private property.
“In the event that the house connection sewer has been damaged, the owner may request that the department repair the damaged portion of the house connection sewer located within the public right-of-way,” the county ordinance reads.
However, that determination depends on two conditions: that the department has funds available for such repairs and the damage is not the fault of the homeowner. When those conditions are met, the county is mandated to do the repairs.
In Hulme’s case, Jenkins said the county determined that “because those roots originated from his property, the county is actually prohibited by ordinance to repair the … damage.” Hulme suspects the line may have been damaged prior to the roots infiltrating, saying that without water escaping from cracks, roots would not have been drawn to the line.
He said he is considering a challenge to the county’s decision.
But few requests for repairs ever get to this point, according to information provided by Jenkins.
In recent years, his department has responded to around 40 requests for house connection investigations and in roughly 75 percent of cases the county has paid for repairs.
In the remaining cases, common reasons for denial are that the damage is out of the public right of way, the blockage is cleared by “more aggressive” private efforts, or no damage is found.
For the current fiscal year, the department has $199,000 budgeted for such repairs. Jenkins said “the better part” of the budget is spent every year, but he could not recall an instance in which a legitimate claim was denied due to lack of funds.
Jenkins provided accounts of several recent accepted and denied claims to illustrate his department’s process for evaluating them. Two of three denials stemmed in part from damage being on private property, and damage in the cases that were accepted was well within the public right of way.
Jenkins said periodic maintenance of sewer lines is a good way to prevent more serious damage. Additionally, there are some private insurers that provide coverage for utility line damage, including one endorsed by the city of Tucson in 2014.
