Mastering the New Sewer Ordinance in USC Alison Hess
Founded in 2009 by USC resident and owner Jason Daugherty, Mister Sewer is a local business that is dedicated to sewer cleaning and repair. Unlike other plumbing companies that are learning how to find ways to help homeowners comply with the new sewer regulations in municipalities like Upper St. Clair, Baldwin, and Brentwood, Mister Sewer has focused on the sewer cleaning and repair business from the beginning. “Our relationships are built on trust,” said Jason as we looked at his line of trucks and excavators before they headed out on a Monday morning. “We started long before everyone else jumped into it.” And he plans to continue long after the others may close up shop. So, what does it take to do the job right and satisfy the customer and USC Township? “We clean the sewer first,” said Jason. Then he showed me the expensive attachment for his special hose truck: the Warthog. He wratcheted it to the end of the high-pressure green hose. “It can clean out any clog in just minutes.” It was small and didn’t look like much, but on our second job of the day, I got to see how powerful it really can be. We pulled up next to a house in Shane guides the new liner in place Scott Township, and Jason got out of his truck to meet the homeowner. I during a trenchless sewer pipe repair. walked around the side of the house to find a good angle for photos and to observe him in action. By the time I adjusted my camera and took a few shots, he was finished and the line was clear. “You might want to step back,” he said. “I’m going to hose off the driveway now.” High pressure, indeed! I walked all the way to the back of the yard to avoid the spray from the hose. Clean and clear in under six minutes. “That’s a pretty typical job,” he said, as we parted ways for the day. The Warthog was worth the investment. Visit MisterSewer.com to see that the website is clean and simple. It’s easy to find the phone number, big and bold at the top. Click the number from your phone, and the call is made. But you won’t reach a receptionist; you’ll reach Jason himself. “I feel that the connection when a customer talks directly to me is different than when they talk to a receptionist. They’re getting answers.” Jason talks to each customer about the problem, discusses ways to fix it, and sets up a time to meet. “Clear and focused,” he says of the website and his company, “that’s what we try to be.”
Tasso digs as PJ describes the next steps in the trenchless repair.
Baldwin and Brentwood enacted ordinances regarding sewer inspections prior to Upper St. Clair enacting theirs, and each municipality handles it a little differently. So, plumbers and sewer experts need to be trained on the specifics, township by township. For USC residents, the guide is NASSCO, the National Association of Sewer Service Companies. They compile photos and books for training and ongoing education relating to sewer defect classification and repair categories. It is this list of classifications that Upper St. Clair uses in its ordinance. This allows each homeowner to be subject to the same regulations. Joint separation, offsets, and infiltration (i.e., rainwater coming in through broken pipes) are all rated and categorized in the NASSCO book that the technicians use as their guide. But the most interesting calls are the ones that involve the trenchless line repairs. One particular house needed a broken line to be repaired before a home sale could be completed. Jason and his crew went to work, first cutting 10
UPPER ST. CLAIR TODAY
Fall 2018
