Sewer Connections

Sewer connections must be performed by the city or a private contractor. Most property owners opt for a private contractor or do it themselves. This is simply a matter of convenience. Whether the property be a new property or an old property, with no prior cesspool or there is a previous cesspool that must be serviced, in a municipal sewer district it benefits the property owner to tie into the system of the city as soon as possible.

The work of the contractor will be to obtain permits for the sewer connection: a lateral connection permit, a Cistern conversion permit, an abandonment of septic tank permit, and any other permits that the country, county or city will all be necessary if they are not part of the contract. The contractor must also file a notice of Commencement. The contractor must obtain from the FKAA the sewer depths for the lateral connection in order to determine the slope of excavating to the building drain that will be required. If connected to a city sewer this permit may not be required.

Once the permits and measurements have been obtained, the contractor will then begin work. A map will be created in which the contractor will get from the mapping and zoning departments or the developer of the building and will plan to build the system from that map. If the map changes it is up to the developer to notify all of the contractors and provide new maps so they can plan accordingly.

Sewer connections will vary in the complexity of the work involved. Some sewer connections may be shallow connections while others may be quite deep. The sewer department from where you obtain your permit my have specific instructions that you can get from them as far as how deep or shallow you will need to put the lines in the ground. There may be the crossing of several utility companies involved such as the gas utility and the water utility and there may be the need for underground "dewatering". Excavation to the street and a "cut-in" on the sewer main may also be required. If other utilities do intersect (but not likely for being a new service and sewer generally goes in first) then contacting a local company to mark the other utility lines so you know where they are at ( most local area's have what they call a dig line 800 # or 811 line to call).

The type of connection in which the contractor will perform to the public sewer will depend upon the size of the public sewer, the size of the pipe material and the connection. If it is not possible to connect directly to the public sewer then the contractor will have to construct a new manhole or make it possible for you and the sewer company to benefit. You might have to cover half of the cost to have the new line run, or you may not have to pay anything. The sewer company may just front the bill for you.