Garner's public sewer is owned by Raleigh Water, so a sewer line replacement here means new pipe for the private lateral from your house to Raleigh's system. Garner has more pre-1980 homes than its inner Wake neighbors, and those original laterals are often the ones that need replacing. Call the number on this page to be connected with a local plumber in Garner.
Why do Garner's older homes have more sewer trouble?
About 28% of Garner's homes were built before 1980, according to ACS 2019-2023 estimates, a much higher share than Cary (12%), Apex (4%) or Knightdale (6%). The median home is newer, from 2001, but the older neighborhoods around the Downtown Garner Historic District and off US 401 and US 70 still have plenty of houses on their first sewer lateral.
Those laterals were often clay or cast iron. Clay joints crack and let roots in, and in yards with decades-old trees the roots can fill a pipe. Cast iron corrodes from the inside until it narrows or breaks through at the bottom. Once a camera shows damage at many points, a new line usually beats repeated root cutting and patching. Homes built since the 1990s have plastic lines, where sags and crushed sections are the usual issues.
Who do I call if the sewer backs up?
Garner's sewer flow was redirected to Raleigh's Neuse River Resource Recovery Facility in 2008, and the old Wrenn Road plant in Garner now handles only water plant residuals. Raleigh Water owns and runs the public sewer, so if a backup might be on the public side, Raleigh Water is the call. If Raleigh finds its side clear, the trouble is in your lateral or the drains under the house, and that's a job for a private plumber.
What permit does a replacement need in Garner?
The Town of Garner Inspections Department issues plumbing and building permits through its online Permit and Inspection Portal; the town no longer accepts paper applications. The plumber doing the work normally applies and schedules the inspection, which has to happen before the trench is closed. The town's page doesn't cover its ETJ, so homes just outside town limits should confirm which office applies.
A local note
Lake Benson, one of Raleigh Water's two drinking water sources, sits in Garner. It's a reminder that keeping wastewater in sound pipe matters beyond your own yard. A cracked lateral leaks into the soil and lets groundwater into the sewer during wet weather.
Sewer Line Replacement questions in Garner
What were older sewer laterals usually made of?
Should I contact the sewer utility before I hire a plumber?
Does a sewer line replacement need a permit, and who issues it?
Can tree roots get into a brand-new sewer line?
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