24/7 Drain Cleaning & Sewer Service in Lincoln, NE

The Near South, Everett, Hawley, Clinton and the neighborhoods around the Capitol have homes from the 1880s through the 1930s, with basements and clay laterals.

Neighborhoods near the University of Nebraska, like Malone and the blocks around City Campus, have many older homes rented to students.

College View, University Place, Havelock and Bethany were once separate towns with their own older housing stock.

South and east Lincoln filled in from the 1950s onward with ranches, split-levels and newer subdivisions.

Lincoln sits on clay soils on the plains, with hot summers, cold winters and heavy spring storms.

Lincoln Transportation and Utilities runs the city's wastewater system and the Theresa Street and Northeast treatment plants. In Lincoln, the owner of a property is responsible for its sewer lateral up to the public main.

Spring storms drop heavy rain on the clay soil, and roots grow fastest in summer. August move-in and football season bring heavy use near campus.

Long winters with subzero cold snaps freeze pipes in garages, porches and exterior walls.

The Near South, just south of the Capitol, has grand homes and modest bungalows from the late 1800s and early 1900s on streets lined with elms and maples. Many large homes have been divided into apartments. Clay laterals under big trees fill with roots, and heavy apartment use adds wear.

Everett and Hawley, near downtown, were home to Germans from Russia and other immigrant families in the early 1900s. Small homes and cottages there have old clay laterals, some without cleanouts. Many homes are rentals.

The neighborhoods near the University of Nebraska have many older homes rented to students. Several tenants per house push a lot of hair, grease and wipes through old laterals. On Husker game days, when Memorial Stadium fills with more than 85,000 fans, nearby homes host crowds and old lines get pushed hard.

College View, University Place, Havelock and Bethany were separate towns before Lincoln annexed them, and each has its own older main street and housing. Old clay laterals and cast iron are common in all of them.

In June, after a week of storms, a family in a 1920s bungalow in the Near South finds water around the basement floor drain. The plumber opens the cleanout and cuts roots from a big elm about thirty feet out. On the camera, the clay is cracked at two joints. They book a liner.

Lincoln winters bring long cold spells with wind across the plains, and nights can drop well below zero. Garage laundry drains, porch plumbing and pipes in old additions freeze first. A warm basement, sleeves on exposed pipe and a slow drip on the coldest nights prevent most of it.

Lincoln's clay soils shrink in hot, dry summers and swell in wet springs. That movement shifts laterals and cracks joints over time, especially in older clay and cast iron.

Salt Creek and its tributaries run through Lincoln, and neighborhoods near them sit on lower ground. Heavy spring storms raise groundwater and push water into cracked laterals. Disconnecting downspouts from the sewer and adding a backwater valve help.

South and east Lincoln grew from the 1950s onward with ranches, split-levels and newer subdivisions. Older ones have cast iron and clay laterals now aging; newer ones have PVC and see mostly grease and wipes.

The Haymarket, downtown and the corridors along O Street and 27th Street have many restaurants. On game weekends they run at capacity, and kitchens that pump grease traps before the season avoid trouble.

Lincoln's large state government workforce and many families keep older homes occupied. Busy kitchens and bathrooms produce most clogs in newer homes.

Older homes that have been passed down through families sometimes have decades of quick fixes on the lateral, and a camera inspection sorts out what's really there.

When snow melts in March, water soaks into the thawing clay and seeps into basements and cracked laterals. Sump pumps run constantly in lower neighborhoods.

Havelock, in northeast Lincoln, grew up around the Burlington railroad shops, where thousands of workers repaired locomotives and cars. Its main street and surrounding blocks have small frame homes and cottages from the early 1900s, built quickly for shop workers and their families. Many of those homes still have their original clay laterals, sometimes with no outside cleanout. Roots from boulevard trees and settling in the clay soil are the usual problems, and adding a cleanout makes future service much easier.

Around the Capitol and the university, many large old homes were divided into apartments decades ago, often with a unit in the basement. That lowest unit sits at the bottom of the plumbing, so when the lateral clogs, its shower or floor drain fills first. Owners of converted homes benefit from a backwater valve and regular jetting.

Besides deep cold, Lincoln sometimes gets ice storms and blizzards with strong wind that knock out power. A house that loses heat for a day in January can freeze pipes quickly. If an outage is expected to last, shut off the main water and open the faucets to drain the lines.

Share the neighborhood, the home's age, whether it's a student rental and whether the basement is finished. Mention big trees near the line.