Lakewood's sewers were built in layers
The City of Lakewood describes three generations of sewer design in town. First came combined sewers carrying stormwater and sewage together. Next came over-under sewers, with the storm pipe placed directly above the sanitary pipe in one trench and metal invert plates at the bottom of manholes for access to the sanitary line. Modern separated sewers came later. In the 1930s the City retrofitted its sewers to an interceptor along the lakefront and riverfront leading to the treatment plant, which was first built in 1916.
For a property owner, that history means the lateral leaving your building may be very old, may connect to a combined or over-under system, and may carry downspout or yard drain water you didn't know about. A camera inspection shows what's really there.
Why inspect in Lakewood
- Buying an older home, double or apartment building: inspect the lateral before closing.
- Basement backups during heavy rain often point to a defect or stormwater entering the sanitary line.
- Tracing where drains connect. Downspouts, area drains and stairwell drains in older buildings often tie into the sanitary lateral.
- Root intrusion from Lakewood's mature street trees, especially in clay tile laterals.
- Renovations and additions that will add plumbing load to an old lateral.
Context: Lakewood's wet weather plan
Under a federal consent decree, Lakewood is carrying out its Integrated Wet Weather Improvement Plan to modernize sewers, manage stormwater and reduce overflows to Lake Erie and the Rocky River. Knowing the condition of your private lateral and what drains into it helps you plan repairs on your own schedule instead of reacting to a backup.
Your report
We record continuous video and code observations to the NASSCO PACP standard, locating every defect by distance with photos and a severity grade. You also get a plain-English summary. Where possible, we mark the pipe route at the surface so you know where a repair would be dug.