How can surcharged sanitary sewers cause flooding of my home or business?
A surcharged sewer flows at a level greater than the "normal" level. If the home has sanitary fixtures or floor drains at an elevation below the surcharge level flooding can occur, basements are particularly susceptible to this. The sanitary sewers have been designed to transfer sanitary waste only. Extraneous storm water flow added to the normal sanitary flow can exceed the capacity of the sanitary sewer resulting in a situation where the sanitary sewer is "surcharged."

Basically, surcharging occurs when the amount of flow trying to get through a pipe exceeds the maximum capacity of the pipe, thus backing up in the system (surcharging). When surcharging occurs, it seeks to relieve itself at the lowest relief point on the system. If your home or business has drainage fixtures which are lower than the nearest upstream manhole, flooding of basements and crawlspaces, or your home or business, is possible. Reducing the extraneous flow will reduce the surcharging and sewer back-ups.

Be aware that you don't have to have a basement to be flooded by surcharged sewers. If elevations of your lowest drainage fixture is lower than the elevation of the nearest upstream manhole, you can likely experience a flooding situation.

Show All Answers

1. Is the City of Republic's water system fluoridated / chlorinated?
2. What is the hardness of the water within the City?
3. What is a sanitary sewer?
4. What is a storm sewer?
5. What is a surcharged sewer?
6. What is an illegal connection?
7. What are the different types of illegal connections
8. Where should storm drainage from downspouts, sump pump and / or other drain appurtenances be directed if it can't be discharged to the sanitary sewer?
9. Why is it important for everyone to remove illegal connections?
10. How can surcharged sanitary sewers cause flooding of my home or business?
11. How can I help prevent flooding of my home or business?
12. Do illegal connections really contribute large amounts of extraneous water to the sanitary sewer system?
13. How does the City of Republic identify illegal connections?
14. If I have an illegal connection, what do I do to correct it?
15. I've never had any flooding due to surcharged sewer. Why should I remove my illegal connections?
16. Is the requirement to remove illegal connections unique to Republic?