How to Hire a Sewer Contractor in Indiana

Who licenses sewer contractors in Indiana

The Indiana Plumbing Commission, part of the Professional Licensing Agency, licenses plumbing contractors and journeyman plumbers and registers apprentices. Indiana's statute defines plumbing to include sewerage systems on the premises out to the private property line or the connection with public disposal, so renewing or lining the building sewer is licensed plumbing work, and the company contracting for it needs a plumbing contractor license . There is no separate state sewer or utility contractor license and no statewide general contractor license; those live at the city or county level. Indianapolis adds a layer: Citizens Energy Group, which owns the sewers, requires any contractor touching a lateral to be listed, insured and bonded with the City of Indianapolis. Verify the plumbing contractor in the PLA License Search, which shows status, expiration and discipline, and ask for liability and workers' compensation certificates on top of any municipal bond.

Permits and inspections

In Indianapolis, the contractor applies online to Citizens Energy Group for a Sanitary Sewer Lateral Permit before any repair, replacement, lining, cleanout installation or abandonment outside the building footprint; cleaning and root cutting are exempt. Citizens inspects the finished work before the trench may be backfilled, usually within a business day, and a city right-of-way permit covers street cuts. Fort Wayne routes the work through City Utilities' Water Pollution Control Maintenance group, which must be notified before any tap excavation. Evansville Water and Sewer Utility requires written approval before digging near its lines, and the building commission issues the plumbing permit. Indiana 811 notice is required by law. The licensed plumbing contractor pulls the permit and schedules the inspection.

Who owns the pipe under the street

Indiana does not follow one rule. Indianapolis is strict: under Citizens Energy Group's terms the owner maintains the lateral from the house to the connection at the main, street included, and may not do the work personally. Fort Wayne also assigns the full lateral and tap to the owner but shares cost on repairs within twenty feet of the main or inside the right-of-way, above a fixed owner contribution, for one- and two-family homes. Evansville goes the other direction: the owner is responsible only between the building and the property line, and the utility maintains the segment in the street and easements. Indiana has no point-of-sale lateral inspection statute. Get the utility's answer in writing before paying to open a street.

What is under Indiana, and why it shapes the bid

Most of Indiana north of Bloomington sits on glacial till, a dense clay that holds a trench wall briefly and then slumps, so shoring belongs in every open-cut bid. Indianapolis neighborhoods built from the 1920s through the 1960s have vitrified clay laterals, often with a cast iron stub at the foundation; Fort Wayne and South Bend are similar, with Orangeburg in some post-war additions. Southern Indiana around Evansville has loess and river sands with a high water table, where dewatering is the big cost instead. Frost depth runs about three feet in the north, less in the south. Combined sewers in Indianapolis, Fort Wayne and Evansville mean laterals back up with rain, and all three utilities push backwater valves when a lateral is rebuilt.

For the lining methods themselves, the Sewer Pipe Lining Indiana pipe lining guide goes into what fails in the ground here and which method fits.

What a Indiana sewer bid must include

• The Indiana plumbing contractor license number and, in Indianapolis, proof the company is bonded with the city.
• The Citizens Sanitary Sewer Lateral Permit number or the Fort Wayne or Evansville utility approval, and who applied for it.
• A city right-of-way permit for any street cut, with pavement restoration to the city standard priced in.
• Shoring or dewatering as separate items, since Indiana till slumps and the Ohio River valley floods a trench.
• The post-repair inspection by the utility before backfill and a camera recording delivered to you.

The full checklist, for any state, is on what a sewer bid should include.

Red flags in Indiana

• A company with no plumbing contractor number in the Indiana PLA License Search, since the lateral is plumbing under state law.
• An Indianapolis bid that skips the Citizens Energy Group lateral permit or the city bond.
• Backfilling before the utility inspector has seen the trench.
• Any dig without an Indiana 811 ticket.

Finding a sewer contractor in Indiana

Indiana does not yet have a verified contractor listed on this site, which is why the number on this page rings the national line. Call it or send the form with the property address and what the symptoms or the camera are showing, and we will locate a qualified sewer contractor near you, screen them the same way we screen every listing, and make the introduction. There is no charge for that. You can also search the CIPP Verified Installer directory yourself.

Estimates are free. Call now. (855) 804-1434

Where Indiana property owners ask for help most

The rules above apply statewide; the communities below are the ones that generate the most questions.

Indiana sewer contractor questions

Is a sewer lateral plumbing work in Indiana?

Yes. Indiana's plumbing statute covers sewerage systems on the premises out to the property line or the public connection, so the contractor needs an Indiana plumbing contractor license. Cities add requirements, such as the Indianapolis bond that Citizens Energy Group requires.

Who owns the lateral in Indianapolis?

You do, from the house to the connection at the main, under the street included, per Citizens Energy Group's wastewater terms. The work must be done by a licensed contractor under a Citizens Sanitary Sewer Lateral Permit, and Citizens inspects before backfill. Other Indiana cities draw the line differently.

Does Fort Wayne help pay for lateral repairs?

For one- and two-family homes, Fort Wayne City Utilities may share the cost of a repair within twenty feet of the main or inside the right-of-way, above a fixed owner contribution, after three quotes from licensed sewer tap contractors. Notify the utility before digging or you lose eligibility in this corner of Indiana.

What inspection should I expect in Indiana?

The sewer utility or city plumbing inspector views the open trench and connection before backfill; in Indianapolis that is Citizens Energy Group, usually within a day. If the line is lined, ask for the post-lining video. Indiana does not require a separate pressure test on gravity laterals.

Why do Indiana bids include shoring or dewatering?

Soil. Glacial clay across northern and central Indiana slumps once a trench is open, so trench boxes are required for safety. Along the Ohio River near Evansville the water table is high and the trench floods, so pumps and well points become the cost driver instead.

The short version for Indiana

In Indiana, start with a camera recording and a locate. Ask your utility in writing where your responsibility ends, because Indianapolis, Fort Wayne and Evansville each answer differently. Verify the plumbing contractor license and any city bond. Compare bids that name the same permit, method, shoring and restoration. Hold payment until the utility inspection passes and you have the video.

Estimates are free. Call now. (855) 804-1434

Sources checked for this page: law.justia.com/codes/indiana/title-25/article-28-5/chapter-1... · info.citizensenergygroup.com/connecting-a-sewer-service-line · www.cityoffortwayne.org/images/stories/Utilities/docs/sewert... · www.evansvillegov.org/egov/documents/1499265841_3867.pdf