Avondale offers property owners sewerline warranty
By David Madrid
The Arizona Republic
September 21, 2011
Avondale is introducing a program that provides sewerline insurance for property owners.
The Service Line Warranty program offers residents a way to avoid the unexpected expense involved with a sewerline break. When a line breaks, the cost to repair it can cause hardship on a tight family budget, and many property owners don’t know that they are responsible for repairing part of the sewerline.
Avondale residents will soon receive offers in the mail to join the warranty program, which will cost $5.95 per month.
That will cover sewerline repairs up to $4,000 as well as an additional allowance of $4,000 for cutting the street, if needed. It’s offered at no cost to the city, and no public funds are used to promote the program.
“Many citizens are unaware that they are responsible for the sewerlines that go from their houses to the utility connection,” Avondale Mayor Marie Lopez Rogers said. “If these lines break or leak, repairs can be very expensive,” David Fitzhugh, Avondale assistant city manager, said that the sewerline warranty is the first of
two such programs that the city will offer. The other warranty program will cover waterlines but won’t be available until spring, he said.
The programs are a partnership of Avondale, the National League of Cities and Service Line Warranties of America.
Avondale owns and operates its water and sewer systems within the rights‐of‐way and easements throughout the city.
Property owners are responsible for maintaining and repairing the underground sewerline from the home to the city main line.
“I know that in the older parts of city there have been problems with root intrusion, so those are homes that are 30, 40 or 50 years old,” Fitzhugh said. “I know that there have been some areas in town that have had some waterline problems. The service line has aged and those are plastic pipes and there’s age and heat that cause problems with it.”
Fitzhugh said that paying someone to fix a broken sewerline can be expensive.
“In these times, a homeowner that is insecure about that, it’s a relatively inexpensive peace of mind,” he said of the cost of the warranty program. “It’s hard to absorb a $4,000 to $5,000 hit.”
There are no deductibles or service fees, and the work is performed by licensed plumbers who call customers within one hour of filing a claim.
The repair typically starts within 24 hours, and the repair hotline is always staffed.
To learn more about the sewerline warranty, go to www.utilitylineprotection.com.
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