Sewer Line Repair in Bowie, MD

Warning signs in a Bowie home

• Water rises in the tub when a toilet is flushed
• The laundry standpipe overflows during the spin cycle
• A toilet gurgles as the bathroom sink empties
• Several drains slow down together rather than just one
• A sewage odor near the cleanout or a soggy strip across the lawn

One slow sink usually means a clogged trap. Trouble across several fixtures points further downstream, to the building sewer that carries everything out to the street.

City sewer or WSSC sewer

The City of Bowie collects wastewater and treats it at its own Bowie plant for many of the original Levitt sections, including Somerset, Tulip Grove, Kenilworth, Yorktown, Foxhill, Meadowbrook and Whitehall. The rest of the city is on WSSC Water, and your bill shows which one serves you. In the city's area, Bowie maintains the sewer mains, while a blockage or break in the sewer house connection, the lateral from house to main, is usually the property owner's job. For a sewer emergency at a WSSC address, call WSSC at 301-206-4002.

The median Bowie home dates to about 1981, but the Levitt houses of the Belair community are from the early 1960s, and their laterals have had six decades of settling, roots and use. Mature shade trees in those neighborhoods are a frequent source of roots working into pipe joints.

What moves the price

• How deep the lateral runs and how much of it is damaged
• Whether the break sits under lawn, a driveway, a patio or a large tree
• Spot repair, a liner or a replaced section
• Access: an existing cleanout versus cutting in a new one
• The plumbing permit, which in Prince George's County comes from WSSC Water

When you call

You'll be connected with an independent local plumber who works in Bowie. Mention your neighborhood, whether the water and sewer bill comes from the City or WSSC, and which drains are backing up. Until the visit, keep water use to a minimum. Expect the plumber to open the line far enough to get a camera through, locate and mark the problem, and then lay out the repair choices along with what each one means for your yard.