If its under the street, then its their job to fix it
Call your city maintenance department because it sounds to me like your plumber is trying to scam you.
Doesn’t sound right to me. I would bitch to my city council person. Flush some copper sulfate crystals down your toilet a couple times per week to kill the roots.
Get some weed killer that is intended to be connected on the
end of a hose (concentrated) and flush it down the drain.
Repeat a little later.
The weed killer will be absorbed by the tree roots and that will kill them further up the pipe than just a drain cleaner.
There are materials and equipment today where, for some situations, they can seal up a pipe from the inside without digging. I saw this on one of those home repair shows, but I have no idea which one. You might want to google a bit.
It may be happening to other houses. With these local politicians, the towns are probably all going broke, and they probably may need the right motivation, i.e., a lot of angry constituents or legal action, to get them to crack open the checkbook. For what municipal funds Should be going towards. I bet they’re right there to collect property taxes, though.
More than likely his can be fixed with a “no dig” option. Google “slip lining,or pipe bursting” for contractors in your area. Still expensive but you won’t have to bond a road cut.
I tried to find the story but I know there was a fraud case last summer involving plumbers that were doing the same thing you mentioned here in and around Minneapolis. But maybe the guy is telling the truth and that is the job that has to be done. Talk to the city and get three bids to do the work.
FWIW, I had a similar issue in Livonia MI.
Long story short, I was responsible for everything up to and including my connection to the main. Which was across the street from my house.
The repairs did not dig up the street though, just all of my front yard and they slid the pipe through under the street without digging that up.
I would check on your local laws though for sure. What else can they say other than no?
Good luck.
I’m with geronl, if the break is on city property, the city should repair it. 20000 seems out of line. I had replaced the entire line at my previous home to the tune of 8k. Maybe, you could work out something with the city to share the costs. Or periodically pour some root eating products down the line and deal with it. You could install a check valve for a couple of hundred bucks. Hint ..... don’t tell city that you have check valve. Good luck.
Whose tree do the roots belong to?
We were told that same thing - that WE were responsible for digging up the City street and fixing the pipe where it was offset at the joint to the main sewer. It was going to be $7K. We decided to go to Rome instead, haha. Honestly!! My friend had to pay for the sewer connection from her house, set way back, to the center of the road sewer pipe. City decided the foothill communities here in Los Angeles could no longer have cesspools, even tho the soil is alluvial, huge boulders and such.
Do your research, but overall the same thing here in NY State - the property owner is responsible for the connection. Tree roots are a big problem here as well.
In fact, the house I live in now must have had a similar problem, because we learned that the previous owners had to dig a new connection from the basement into the street sewer.
In our city it is the homeowner’s responsibility. But the city charges every homeowner an annual fee that goes into a fund to help offset the cost when it arises. Homeowner pays a third and the city two thirds.
Contrary to popular belief...
Plant roots, of any kind, don’t have brains. They don’t know what’s in a pipe; water, sewage, gas, whatever. The only way they can invade a pipe is *if it’s leaking, through a hole in the pipe*, itself.
A plant’s root system will normally grow around a pipe, of any size, if it’s not leaking a liquid, just as they would grow around a rock or log, buried underground. Roots are attracted to liquid, as nourishment. A gas is generally poisonous to plant root systems.
The leaking pipe will have to be dug-up and replaced.
Every two years we paid $50 to roto our sewer out because of tree roots.
That’s not a lot.
Likely many others will be having the same problem and the city will come through with a plan for doing everyone.
The EPA may require them to!
Meanwhile find the tree and kill it.
Check with the city. Politicians can be corrupt, which means the law doesn’t always make sense. For instance, where I live the homeowner is responsible for the city sidewalk.
I don't remember if my plumber said anything about who would bear the cost of replacing the street pipe but I've always heard stories that the homeowner becomes liable. Anyway, the cheap solution is working for me quite well.
I would for a certainty try the cheapest thing first. If it doesn’t work you’re out a few bucks and no harm, but I just haven’t had good experience with poisons, etc. over time.
Another option that may or may not apply, is to do the root-X treatments until the next time the city does sewer renovation in your street. Many municipalities are still separating storm sewers from sanitary sewers. Getting a new lateral done when they are tearing up the street at taxpayer expense can save you a fortune, if you can wait that long. We got lucky on a 3-unit we owned that had cracked clay pipe. Saved $$$ Thousands, we supplied the coffee and donuts gratis!