I might be in the situation described below with a drain in the back of my house that collects water from the yard, roof, and maybe more... It got suddenly very slow with water accumulating in the yard then flooding my basement through the window well. I have a sump pump but today it started shooting up water in a shower drain while water accumulated in the yard.

I called Rotorooter to look at the drain and they say it is partly invaded by roots and collapsed. I might to have that line redone. Can anyone recommend a plumber for this kind of job? They need to dig through, locate the obstruction, replace, and pressure test.

Gotcha- it was already established that another house is tapped into the same line though, so we're trying to get clear on who else is on it too- even if we moved ours, if others are on the same line there would still be a leak that needs fixed so I guess one thing at a time. Thanks to all for chipping in your thoughts and ideas and if anyone has anything new to say... well that's the reason we're here.

If property owner illegally tapped into the sewer line in the back and not the front (even if this is done prior to your ownership) then the property owner must fix.).

The dye test is quite clear. If it is the dye from your toilet and it leaks to the street then it's your leak.

Thanks Vigilante, for the link, and Dave, yes, we have been seeing some plumbers to see what they can do about snaking/jetting/putting a camera through this alley pipe to see where the problem originates and if it's broken just under the neighbor's house or all the way down the block. After speaking with some of the neighbors, I have more and more of an impression that the alley pipe could be a very historical pipe indeed. I'm pretty ignorant about attaching pics here , tried it to no avail but I'll try again when I get a moment. Stayed home for a bit as we happened upon the gentlemen from MUA who were arriving to do dye-tests with the basement-level neighbors who were home so today is a day of some progress.

Have you considered televising the drain. That would be the first thing I would do.
Feel free to pm me and I will see if I can point you in a better direction.

Forget the city or United Water. Go over their heads and contact the NJ DEP.

http://www.state.nj.us/dep/

I'm just a little unclear on what the issue is on the first instance. You're saying there's a sewer leak? I all see is a generic statement of a sewage leak somewhere, going towards Coles and 4ths ... and you (and presumably your neighbor) live somewhere on 4th ... I think we need more details here. Or maybe you don't know, and that's the point -- just know there's a leak ... somewhere, going to one place, and don't want to pay for it and want it to stop.

Pictures would be a huge help understand what you're talking about here. I re-read your post 3 times to figure out what you're trying to say, and I'm still not really clear.

What are both of the entities stating, specifically?

What is (or do you believe) is happening in your specific circumstance that you believe may be happening (and are warning others of) elsewhere?

Where do you believe this problem is limited to? just 4 & 5th b/w Coles and Jersey? Or possibly even this one specific location (which would I suppose bolster the entities arguments it's your problem, not theirs). ... and that's why you're reaching out to see if others are having issues so the entities will foot the bill to fix --- which is complete reasonable if it's a problem with their pipe.

Bumping this topic.... after we went door to door, no results from JCMUA yet.

Hi everyone,
We are currently going back and forth with the city and the MUA regarding the public sewer line. Back in December, we noticed a leak coming up behind the neighbor's garage that oozed out towards Coles (we're a few houses east of the intersection). Mayor's Action bureau gave us to United Water, who gave us to JCMUA, who attempted to give us back to United Water. Due to the runaround, got in touch with Fulop who immediately involved the ED of JCMUA. No resolution yet, JCMUA claims that unless it's proven the sewer lines of multiple houses lead back to the alleyway (as opposed to toward the street), it's our responsibility as the homeowners to fix. And they only ran a dye test on our place, not the rest of the block. The leak is well off our property and the pipe is probably as old as the city. We will stay on them until this is resolved but I wanted to check in with the JCers to see if anyone else has done any similar back and forth, if you have recommendations, and if anyone knows any attorneys who would have a background in similar--especially local- matters. PM if you live nearby and want to discuss anything, want to hear more of the story, or if you live on the north side of 4th and are willing to schedule a dye test to see if your line runs toward the alley. We are devoting some time to this every day and keeping a log of all the communications. Thank you!! -Angel