Who pays to repair the sewer lead in West Bloomfield?

The property owner does. The township's FAQ makes the owner responsible from the home all the way to the main, including the connection point. The township maintains the sanitary sewer mains. Its FAQ also suggests checking whether your home insurance already covers these repairs.

What should I do after a sewer backup in West Bloomfield?

The township's FAQ says Public Act 222 damage claims go to the Township Clerk's office within 45 days. The township's part is the main, so a failed lead is the owner's repair. A plumber or a drain cleaning company clears a simple clog. When the pipe itself has failed, a camera inspection shows where, and we repair or replace it.

Is my West Bloomfield home on sewer or a septic system?

Most likely sewer. The township's master plan says sanitary sewers serve most of the township. On-site systems still serve a few homes that predate sewer or sit where extending it cost too much. The township's Water and Sewer Utilities Department can confirm what serves your lot.

How much does sewer line replacement cost in West Bloomfield?

The length and depth of your lead drive most of the price. Restoring a driveway or crossing pavement adds to it, and so do township permit fees. A new connection also carries the township's sanitary sewer connection fee, which depends on your lot's sewer district. We look at the job and put a free estimate in writing.

Can I tie my sump pump into the sewer or the storm drain?

Not into the sanitary sewer, where the township inspects for illicit sump pump connections. Its FAQ allows discharge outside the home. The water must first hit the ground at least 20 feet from the road or curb. An underground tie into the county storm drain below the curb needs a Road Commission permit.

Sewer Line Replacement in West Bloomfield, MI | Sewer Laterals, New Connections and Site Work

Who Owns the Sewer Lead in West Bloomfield?

West Bloomfield, a township of about 66,000 people, runs its own sanitary sewer system. Its Water and Sewer Utilities Department maintains more than 300 miles of sewer mains and 23 lift stations. Two Oakland County interceptors, the Clinton-Oakland and the Evergreen-Farmington, carry the flow away. The sewage ends up at the Great Lakes Water Authority's treatment plant.

For the township, the sanitary sewer system is its main line, not your lead or your plumbing. The department does not clean sewer leads on private property. It marks its own mains and service lines in the right-of-way, but it does not stake private property. Before we dig, we call MISS DIG 811 for the utility locates.

The township says its sewer system is separated, not combined. Storm drains carry clear rainwater to the lakes and streams, and the sanitary sewer carries waste to treatment. The township inspects for sump pumps and roof drains tied into the sanitary sewer.

Sewer Line Repair or Replacement for West Bloomfield Homes

The 1970s were the township's biggest building decade, with about a quarter of today's homes. The median home here dates to 1981. The township's FAQ points to the age of the home and tree roots in sewer leads as factors to weigh.

A camera inspection shows the actual condition of the line before anyone digs. One broken section in sound pipe calls for sewer line repair. Trouble along much of the run points to a full sewer line replacement from the house to the main.

On private property, the township's plumbing inspector holds authority over the work. Township paperwork for new connections lists a sewer tap and water service line permit from its building department. Required testing is done and documented before the final backfill, which goes back in compacted lifts.

Lake Lots and New Sewer Connections in West Bloomfield

West Bloomfield holds 28 lakes, and lakes cover about 14 percent of the township, per its master plan. Walnut, Pine, Cass, Middle Straits and Upper Straits lakes lie fully or partly inside its borders. Many lakefront homes began as weekend cottages on small lots and were later enlarged for year-round living.

Septic systems built for weekend use became overburdened and fed nutrients into many lakes, the master plan says. Sanitary sewers built later eased much of that concern. The plan says sewers serve most of the township, while on-site systems still serve a few homes. If one of those systems fails, township ordinance calls for a sewer connection or a proper repair.

Where the sewer in front of a lot is a low-pressure line, a gravity lead cannot connect. Those homes connect through a grinder pump system built to a township-engineered plan, and the township owns the system. The old septic tank is abandoned as part of that work.

A sewer dig within 500 feet of a lake, stream, wetland or other watercourse needs a township soil erosion permit. Within 25 feet of a wetland's edge, nothing may be disturbed without a wetland or setback permit. We plan the trench and the restoration around both rules.

Water Service Lines and Rebuilds in West Bloomfield

West Bloomfield buys its treated water from the Great Lakes Water Authority. The township owns the water service from the main to the curb stop near your property line. From the curb stop to the house, the line and its repairs are the owner's. We handle water service line replacement on that private side and restore the yard.

The township installs copper to the curb stop and recommends copper on private property. An approved equal material can go in once the plumbing inspector or the Water Department approves it. Michigan's rule has water systems replace lead service lines, private side included, at the system's expense. The township posts its service line material inventory on its water and sewer page.

The master plan notes in-fill homes going up on vacant and underused lots in many neighborhoods. Census data shows permits for 87 new single-family homes in 2024 and 57 in 2025. Every demolition needs a township building permit, and its checklist calls for a water and sewer cap permit. When an old house or garage must come down first, we handle the demolition and lot clearing.

Removing and replacing a driveway takes a township zoning permit as well. After a sewer or water trench crosses the drive, we can pour a new concrete driveway. Storm sewers in the roads are maintained by the Road Commission for Oakland County, not the township. Private drainage is the landowner's or the association's, and we install catch basins and storm drains for it.