Sewer Line Replacement in Glendale, AZ

Is my Glendale home old enough for this to be likely?

It depends on the street. City-data puts the median Glendale home at about 1985, which means a large share of houses are now roughly forty years old, and some neighborhoods are much older than that. Drain lines from those decades can be clay, which lets roots in at the joints, or cast iron, which corrodes from the inside. When a camera shows that kind of wear along most of the run, replacing the line is often more sensible than repairing it one section at a time. Newer homes on plastic pipe can need replacement too, usually because of settling, a crushed section or poor original slope.

Who is responsible for which part?

Glendale Water Services runs both the city's water and its wastewater systems, including collection, treatment and a pretreatment program for business discharges. The city sewer main is public. The pipe from your home to that main serves only your property, and work on it is arranged by the owner through a plumber. Call Glendale Water Services at 623-930-4100 if you suspect the issue is in the public main, for example when neighbors are backing up too.

One wrinkle: in the Hedgepeth Hills area between Loop 101 and Mohawk Drive, water customers are billed by the City of Phoenix. That is a water billing arrangement; if you live there and are unsure who handles your sewer, ask before work starts.

What does the permit cover?

Glendale's Building Safety, Codes and Services Q&A states that replacing drain and waste piping requires a permit. In practice the plumber pulls the permit, completes the work, and has the new line inspected before it is covered. Ask who is responsible for each of those steps when you compare quotes, and ask for the camera video so you can see the damage yourself.

A note on Glendale yards

Many lots have mature trees, block walls and hardscape that went in long after the house was built. Mapping the line before choosing a method helps decide whether trenchless work can avoid tearing up a patio or whether an open trench is unavoidable. Calling 811 before any digging lets utilities mark their buried lines first.