24/7 Drain Cleaning & Sewer Service in Indianapolis, IN

Herron-Morton, Old Northside, Lockerbie Square, Fletcher Place and Fountain Square have homes from the 1860s through the 1910s with basements or crawlspaces and clay laterals.

Irvington, Broad Ripple, Meridian-Kessler, Butler-Tarkington and the near east and west sides were built from the 1900s through the 1940s with bungalows, foursquares and Tudors.

Postwar neighborhoods across Marion County, from Lawrence to Wayne and Perry townships, were built from the 1950s through the 1970s with ranches on slabs, crawlspaces or basements.

Newer subdivisions on the county's edges and in suburbs like Fishers, Carmel and Greenwood have PVC drains.

The older core is served by combined sewers, and Citizens Energy Group's DigIndy tunnel system, bored deep in bedrock, captures overflows that once went into the White River and Fall Creek.

Citizens Energy Group operates the Indianapolis wastewater system, including the DigIndy tunnels and the Belmont and Southport treatment plants. Indianapolis property owners maintain their private lateral up to the public sewer.

Spring rain and summer thunderstorms are the busiest time for backups in the older city, and roots grow fastest from May through August.

January cold snaps freeze drains in garages, crawlspaces and exterior walls.

Herron-Morton Place, the Old Northside and Fall Creek Place grew in the late 1800s as the city's well-to-do moved north from downtown. Victorian and Italianate homes sit on tree-lined streets, many restored after decades of decline. Their clay laterals often date to the original construction, and roots, cracks and settling are common.

Meridian-Kessler and Butler-Tarkington, on the north side, have bungalows, foursquares, Tudors and large homes along Meridian Street, built from the 1910s through the 1930s. The trees there are enormous, and clay laterals under them are the leading cause of backups. Many homes have finished basements, so a backwater valve is a smart addition.

Irvington, an old streetcar suburb on the east side, has Victorian and Craftsman homes on curving, wooded streets. Clay laterals and big trees mean roots. The near east side, around Woodruff Place and Holy Cross, has similar older homes.

Fountain Square and Fletcher Place, just southeast of downtown, have cottages and shotgun-style homes built for German and Irish workers. Both neighborhoods have been revived with restaurants and new residents, and new construction tied into old lines can cause trouble where pipes meet.

For decades, a quarter inch of rain could send raw sewage into the White River and Fall Creek through combined sewer overflows. Citizens Energy Group's DigIndy project bored about 28 miles of tunnels more than 200 feet down through bedrock to store overflow until the treatment plants can handle it. Overflows have dropped dramatically. Local sewers can still surcharge in big storms, so backwater valves remain useful in older neighborhoods.

After a June storm, a family in a 1925 bungalow in Meridian-Kessler finds water spreading from the basement floor drain. The plumber opens the cleanout and cuts roots from a big sycamore about forty feet out. The footage shows the clay has cracked at several joints. The family prices a liner and a backwater valve together.

Much of Marion County outside the old city was built in the 1950s through the 1970s with ranch homes, many on slabs or crawlspaces. Cast iron under slabs and clay laterals from that era are now aging, with scale and roots the most common findings. Crawlspace drains can leak unnoticed until there's a smell.

Broad Ripple, a lively village on the north side along the canal and the White River, has bungalows and cottages on small lots, many rented to young professionals and students from Butler. Heavy use and old clay laterals mean frequent clogs.

Mass Ave, Fountain Square, Broad Ripple and downtown restaurants fill up during Colts games, conventions and the month of May leading up to the Indy 500. Kitchens in older buildings run interceptors on short pumping cycles to keep up with the crowds.

Central Indiana's clay soils hold water and shift with wet and dry seasons. Over decades, laterals can settle into bellies where waste collects. A line that clears fine but clogs again within months often has a sag that a camera will show.

Indianapolis winters bring cold snaps that can drop below zero. Garage utility sinks, crawlspace drains and laundry lines along exterior walls are the first to freeze. Close crawlspace vents in winter, wrap pipe in the garage and let a faucet drip during deep cold.

Say which neighborhood or township you're in, roughly when the house was built, and whether it has a basement, crawlspace or slab. Mention whether it rained hard first, whether neighbors also have water and whether big trees grow near the lateral.