Hilltop and the streets north of Manchester Road
The city's city plan says the oldest neighborhoods lie north of Manchester Road, or between Oak Hill Drive and Reinke Road to the south. The Hilltop Area, along Marsh Avenue, Hilltop Road, Fairview Drive and Field Avenue, is a designated Preservation District.
About a quarter of Ellisville's homes date from the 1950s and 1960s. In houses that age we expect clay or cast-iron drains, roots in the lateral and leftover galvanized fittings, so a camera inspection pays off before any digging. If you live in the preservation district, ask the city before any job that changes the outside of the house.
Manchester Road, Clarkson Road and the 1970 to 2000 middle
Manchester Road, Route 100, is the primary thoroughfare, and Manchester and Clarkson is the city's own key location marker. Half the housing, 50.5 percent, went up between 1970 and 2000, and the median year built is about 1983 (data aggregator, Census ACS).
Those houses typically have copper supply and plastic or cast-iron drains. We expect calls about tired tank heaters, leaking angle stops and valves, and drain stacks that have slowed with age. A water heater replacement after hours is likely when a tank starts to leak.
Kiefer Creek Road, Old State Road and Bluebird Park
Bluebird Park, 167 acres at 225 Kiefer Creek Road, holds The EDGE Aquatic Center, a dog park, disc golf and an amphitheater. Kiefer Creek appears in the city's records as a road and park name, not a flood record, so we do not claim a creek history for it.
The better reason to watch the weather is a 9.31 inch rain report from one mile east of Ellisville on November 4 to 6, 2024 (National Weather Service). After a rain like that, check the sump pump and any floor drain. For homes along the longer roads out west, ask whether your line even connects to a public sewer main, because septic properties fall outside the city program.
Sewer laterals: who owns the pipe and who pays
Here the main belongs to the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District. The city's FAQ says the homeowner is responsible for a leaking or defective lateral, and that MSD does not cover it. Voters approved the Sewer Lateral Insurance Program on August 3, 1999, funded by a $28 annual fee on the property tax bill.
The program covers homes with six or fewer dwelling units, and the city says typical repairs often run $3,000 or more. It does not reimburse cabling, and it covers nothing inside the home, under the building or for pumps. The city contractor does the camera inspection, and you collect three bids from city-approved contractors.
Because of those rules, call the city before you hire anyone for an excavation. In a backup at 2 a.m., we clear the line first and sort out the program the next business day.
Sewage backing up in the middle of the night?
Call our 24/7 line before you run another load of laundry. We start with the fastest way to stop the damage.
The Ellisville plumber licence and permit form
Ellisville asks plumbers and drain layers to hold a city licence, renewed every July 31, with a copy of the St. Louis County licence attached. Permit applications go to the Engineering Department at 1 Weis Avenue, and the city's form category includes a Plumbing Permit Application and a Sewer Permit Application.
Chapter 500 of the city code says no one may repair or install a plumbing device without a permit, and inspections are requested 24 hours ahead. Whether a particular swap needs one is a city decision, so ask the Engineering Department. Ask any plumber which licences they hold, and check county licences with the county examiners.
Service priorities for Ellisville homes
These follow the local housing mix, the lateral rules and the water supply.
- Sewer lines.
Sewer line repair leads, because the homeowner owns the lateral and roots find older clay joints.
- Water service lines.
Missouri American Water pledged to replace lead and galvanized service lines, with a goal year of 2030, so water line repair should be coordinated with the utility.
- Water heaters.
With half the homes built in 1970 to 2000, replacement is the steadiest emergency call.
- Camera checks.
A sewer inspection gives you footage to show the city program or a seller.
Water from Missouri American
Ellisville's own website hosts the utility's Lead Service Line Inventory, and the supply is Missouri River and Meramec River surface water. Missouri American's 2023 regional report printed total hardness between 66 and 226 ppm as calcium carbonate, varying by treatment plant. Which plant feeds your tap is not stated, so test it.
Scale shortens heater life in any hard-water area. Request the utility's latest water quality report, and have us check the anode rod when we replace a heater.
Before we arrive: lateral and heater checks
Four steps that fit how Ellisville homes usually fail.
Stop using drains.
If water gurgles up in a basement floor drain or tub, stop the washer and dishwasher. Every gallon you add finds the same blocked lateral.
Note the signs.
Write down any odor, gray or black water, and where it first appeared. Backups inside the house usually point to the lateral.
Cool the heater.
If a tank is leaking, close the cold supply valve above it and switch off the gas control or breaker. If you smell gas, leave and call 911 or the gas utility.
Keep paperwork handy.
Find your property tax bill. The $28 line item shows you pay into the lateral program, which helps the city sort out coverage.
Neighboring towns
Ellisville borders larger neighbors with their own rules. Ballwin reimburses laterals through a different process, and Chesterfield sends permits through St. Louis County, so check the right page for your address.
Ellisville, MO on the map
Questions we hear in Wildwood, MO
Ellisville is not the USPS preferred city name for any ZIP, only an accepted alias, so the town spans three. We treat 63021 as primary. Bluebird Park at 225 Kiefer Creek Road uses it, and that ZIP also serves Ballwin.
City Hall at 1 Weis Avenue is in 63011, a Ballwin-named ZIP that also covers Ellisville addresses. ZIP 63038 is Wildwood-named and lists Ellisville as an alias, mostly along Old State Road on the western edge. These lists come from sampling databases and not from USPS, so give dispatch your street address.
Yes. Ellisville gets 24/7 dispatch every day of the year, so a midnight burst pipe or sewer backup is a normal call. Use the 24/7 emergency line and give your address. Same-day appointments are available if the schedule permits, with the price made clear first.
Cabling is a maintenance cost the program does not reimburse. It targets leaking or defective laterals on homes with six or fewer units, with the city's contractor doing inspection. If the line is actually broken, ask the city before hiring an excavator.
The city requires its own plumber licence, renewed every July 31, with a St. Louis County licence copy attached. Ask for both numbers before work begins.
Permit applications are filed with the city's Engineering Department at 1 Weis Avenue. Call the city to ask if your repair needs a permit, and note that inspections must be requested 24 hours ahead.
Ellisville's website hosts Missouri American Water's Lead Service Line Inventory for the city, and the utility has pledged to replace lead and galvanized service lines, with a goal year of 2030. Check the inventory or call the utility before any digging near your meter. We can pair our work with theirs.
Have a question this page did not answer? Call (855) 575-2890 at any hour and a dispatcher will talk it through.