Hiring a Sewer Contractor in Yakima

What is under Yakima

The City of Yakima's Wastewater Division runs more than 350 miles of collection pipe, about 7,000 manholes, and eleven lift stations, all draining to the treatment plant on the east side near the Yakima River. Downtown, the north side, and the blocks near the fairgrounds were sewered in the early and mid-1900s with vitrified clay and, for the larger lines, unreinforced concrete. Clay side sewers from that period have a joint every two to four feet and each joint is a root entry point. Concrete pipe has a different problem: hydrogen sulfide corrodes the crown from inside until it breaks under traffic. Houses built in the 1960s through the 1980s, out toward West Valley and along Nob Hill Boulevard, typically have concrete or early ABS and PVC side sewers. Newer construction is PVC. The valley floor is irrigated farmland turned city, with deep silt loam over river gravel, and the canal and ditch system keeps the soil moist most of the growing season. That moisture is what feeds the roots. Street trees, leftover orchard trees, and lawn irrigation push roots toward the nearest leaking joint, and a Yakima side sewer that has not been cut in a few years is often more root than pipe at the joints. Why it shapes the bid: root-infested clay rarely gets better with repeated cutting, so the honest question is whether to line it, burst it, or dig, and which option depends on how much of the pipe is still round. The side service line between the building and the city main is the property owner's to maintain; the city maintains the main, inspects it by camera and smoke testing, and looks for unpermitted connections.

Permits and the lateral in Yakima

Side sewer permits in Yakima come from the Community Development Department's Code Administration Division, the same office that handles plumbing permits. The application asks whether the work is being done by a Washington-registered contractor, by the owner, or by an exempt entity, and contractors must list their state registration number. Tapping into a city main to set a new stub requires a specialty Side Sewer Installer license issued by the city, so not every plumber can make a new connection. If the trench reaches a street, alley, or sidewalk, a separate excavation permit is required from the city's Engineering Division, with their restoration standards. Call 811 for a utility locate before any digging. Inspections are scheduled through Code Administration, and the pipe should be inspected before backfill. The responsibility line is the connection to the main: the property owner maintains the side service line from the building to the main, including any portion under public right-of-way.

Statewide licensing, permit and ownership rules are on the Washington hiring guide.

Hiring well in Yakima

A Yakima side sewer bid should open with a camera inspection, done after the line has been cleaned enough to actually see the pipe wall. Roots can hide a cracked or collapsed section, so ask for the video and a written footage log rather than a verbal summary. The bid must name the Code Administration side sewer permit, say whether an Engineering excavation permit is needed, and state who pulls each one. It should identify the pipe material the camera found and tie the proposed method to it: lining is appropriate for round clay with joint leaks, bursting or open trench for collapsed or badly deformed pipe, and spot repair for a single break in otherwise sound pipe. Ask how the contractor will deal with the roots before lining, since a liner installed over uncut roots will fail at those points. Restoration of lawn, sidewalk, and asphalt should be its own line item. Red flags for Yakima: a contractor who proposes to tap the main without a city Side Sewer Installer license; a proposal to cut roots again and call it fixed when the video shows broken joints; a bid that skips the excavation permit for a sidewalk or alley cut; and no Washington contractor registration number on the paperwork.

Finding a sewer contractor in Yakima

No verified contractor is listed for Yakima yet, so the number on this page rings the national line. Call it or send the form with the address and what the symptoms or the camera are showing, and we will locate a qualified sewer contractor near you, screen them the way we screen every listing, and make the introduction at no charge. You can also search the CIPP Verified Installer directory.

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

Yakima sewer contractor questions

Who is responsible for the side sewer under the street in Yakima?

The property owner. The City of Yakima maintains the public main and the manholes, and the Wastewater Division's collections crew clears and repairs those. The private side service line, from the building to the connection at the main, belongs to the owner for its full length, including the part under the street or alley. If a camera shows the problem is in the main, call the city before paying a contractor.

Can any plumber connect a new side sewer to the main in Yakima?

No. Yakima requires a specialty Side Sewer Installer license from the city for anyone who taps the public main to set a new stub, on top of the state contractor registration. Repairs that reuse the existing connection do not need the tap, so a registered plumbing contractor can do those under a Code Administration permit. Ask which situation applies to your job and check the license before work starts.

Why do Yakima sewer lines get so many roots?

Irrigation. The city sits on former orchard land with silt soils that stay damp through the growing season, and the canals, ditches, and lawn sprinklers keep it that way. Clay side sewers from the early and mid-1900s have a joint every few feet, and roots follow the moisture leaking out of those joints. Cutting roots buys a year or two. Sealing the joints, by lining or new pipe, is what stops them.

Sources checked for this page: www.yakimawa.gov/services/wastewater-treatment-plant/collect... · www.yakimawa.gov/services/codes/files/water-and-sewer-connec...