When a sewage backup is an emergency
Call now if sewage is rising in a basement tub, shower or floor drain, if toilets bubble when you run water, or if a wet spot is spreading in the yard over the sewer line. We dispatch around the clock for these. A slow drain or an odor with no water on the floor can be booked as a same-day appointment when available.
While you wait, stop every fixture, including the washing machine. Keep children and pets away from standing sewage, and stay out of any wet area with outlets or appliances. Photograph the water line on walls and belongings for your insurer or landlord before you clean anything.
Blocked pipe or broken pipe: how we tell
Roots and grease cause most backups, and a cable or jet often fixes them. When clearing the line does not hold, or the cable stops at the same spot twice, the pipe itself may be damaged. Warning signs include a sunken patch of yard, repeated backups after a clean, and sewage odor outdoors.
We run a camera, as in a sewer inspection, through the cleanout, read the footage, and use a locator to mark the depth and position of the problem on the surface. That shows whether the fault is a cracked joint, a root-filled offset, a belly that holds water, or a full collapse. You see what we see before agreeing to a repair. A plain clog goes to sewer line cleaning instead of a dig.
Sewer repair options compared
The right repair depends on the damage, the depth, and what sits on top of the pipe. This is how the common methods compare.
| Method | Best for | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Spot repair by digging | One cracked joint or a short failed section | Opens the yard at one point and is quicker when the pipe is shallow |
| Full open-trench replacement | Long damaged runs, collapses, bellies | Most disruptive, but gives new pipe with correct fall |
| Trenchless lining | Cracks, root-prone joints, aging but aligned pipe | Little digging, but needs a cleared pipe and some diameter is lost |
| Pipe bursting | Replacing a failed line along its old path | Fewer trenches, needs entry and exit pits |
| Cleanout or access added | Lines with no way in for cameras or cables | Small cost now, easier future service |
A camera view decides which row applies. We do not recommend a method before we see the pipe.
Trenchless sewer repair: what it can and cannot do
Trenchless repair means working through existing access points instead of digging the whole line. A liner is pulled into the old pipe and cured in place, or a new pipe is pulled through as the old one is broken up. It saves lawns, driveways, trees and landscaping, which matters on wooded lots where a trench would cross root zones.
It has limits. The host pipe must be cleaned first, so hydro jetting often comes before lining. A pipe that has collapsed or shifted far out of line usually needs digging. Lining also reduces the inside diameter slightly, which rarely matters on a four-inch line but is worth discussing.
Cast iron drains in older homes
Cast iron was a standard drain material for decades and rusts from the inside, forming rough scale that catches paper and grease. Eventually the pipe cracks or flakes through, often at hubs and joints. The signs are repeated clogs, slow drains at several fixtures, and sewer odor.
Wildwood is mostly newer housing. The Census ACS for 2020 to 2024 reports a median build year of 1992, and about 6.8 percent of homes, or roughly 910 of 13,391, were built before 1970. Cast iron is therefore a targeted concern in the older cores around Grover and Pond along Old Manchester Road and in pre-1970 homes.
We confirm material and condition by camera. Cast iron that is still sound can often stay, while sections that are thin, split or collapsed are replaced, usually with modern plastic pipe.
Septic and package plant sections of the line
Many Wildwood homes, especially west of Highway 109, are not on MSD sewer. They drain to a private septic system, or to a package plant that serves a whole subdivision, as the city's Master Plan describes. On those properties the line runs from the house to the tank, and from the tank onward to a field or plant.
Our work on the house-to-tank section is the same as any sewer line: camera, locate, repair. We do not treat the tank or the field. If the tank outlet, a full tank or a saturated field is the cause, you need a septic contractor, and we say so.
The Master Plan also notes that soils in much of the city are unsuitable for individual septic systems. Repeated backups on a private system deserve a closer look than another cable run. City code 510.080 also requires connection to a public sewer when a sanitary line lies within 200 feet, so ask whether sewer has become available at your address.
Who pays for the lateral, and what the county program may mean for you
The lateral is the pipe from your house to the sewer main, and it is generally the homeowner's responsibility. Ellisville's city FAQ says plainly that MSD does not cover laterals. Where your responsibility ends and the MSD main begins is something to confirm with MSD for your address.
A 2023 Wildwood city memo reviewed the St. Louis County Sewer Lateral Repair Program, citing a fee of $28 to $50 per year under state law and an average county repair cost of $3,330. We cannot confirm that Wildwood has joined, so ask the city whether your address qualifies before you hire anyone. Programs often have contractor and coverage rules. Neighboring Ballwin and Ellisville run their own city programs on a $28 annual fee, so rules differ by town.
Backup in the house right now?
Call the 24/7 line. A licensed plumber can start with the camera and tell you what the pipe needs.
From the first camera look to a finished repair
- 1
Camera and locate.
We run the camera, mark depth and location on the surface, and show you the footage.
- 2
Choose the method.
You get the options, the disruption of each, and a clear price before work starts.
- 3
Permit and utility locate.
City code section 500.080 says no plumbing work in Wildwood without a permit, so we confirm requirements with the building department. Underground utilities are marked before any digging.
- 4
Repair, test and restore.
We replace or line the pipe, run water through it, camera it again, and restore the work area.
What affects the price of sewer line repair
Sewer repairs vary more than most plumbing jobs because the damage is underground. You get a clear price before work starts, after we see the pipe.
A short shallow fix costs a fraction of replacing a long deep run.
Digging, lining and bursting differ in labor, equipment and restoration.
A driveway, patio, tree roots or a retaining wall on a hillside lot add work either way.
Permit fees and required inspections add time to the project.
New pipe, fittings and connections to the main or tank affect material cost.
Insurance seldom covers sewer line wear, root damage or gradual cracking. A sudden collapse from an outside event might be handled differently, and some policies offer sewer or water backup endorsements. Your policy decides.
For a real number on your line, call our 24/7 number and we will book the camera visit.
Questions we hear in Wildwood, MO
Yes. Our 24/7 dispatch covers sewage backups, collapsed lines and flooding from a broken sewer at any hour, including weekends and holidays. Call the emergency line and describe where the water is coming up.
A slow drain with no flooding is usually booked as a same-day appointment when available.
A clog usually clears when the line is cabled or jetted. A broken pipe backs up again soon after, may leave a sunken wet patch in the yard, and shows in the camera as a crack, offset, belly or collapse. The camera is the only reliable test.
It is generally the homeowner's responsibility, from the house to the main. Ask MSD where your responsibility ends. If your property is not on MSD sewer, your private system is yours to maintain.
A 2023 city memo discussed joining it, but we cannot confirm that Wildwood adopted it. Ask the city, or St. Louis County Public Works, whether your address qualifies before you start work.
No. It saves landscaping when the pipe is aligned and can be cleaned, but a collapsed or badly shifted pipe usually needs digging. We show you the footage and explain which methods fit.
Yes, the line between the house and the tank is ordinary sewer pipe, and we camera and repair it. Tank, baffle and field problems belong to a septic contractor, and we will say so if the camera points there.
Have a question this page did not answer? Call (855) 575-2890 at any hour and a dispatcher will talk it through.