What causes sewer line backups?
Sewer lines can back up when they become clogged with materials such as grease or paper products, or when tree roots damage mains and laterals and cause excess inflow into lines. Some backups occur during wet weather when sewer flows increase dramatically and lead to sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs) within the towns collection system. A combination of increased flows and lack of downstream treatment capacity causes the SSOs.
