Who owns the sewer lateral, and who pays after a basement backup, town by town in Central Ohio
When sewage comes up a basement floor drain, two questions follow at once: whose pipe is blocked, and who pays. This page answers both from the codes and city pages of sixteen Central Ohio towns and the Delaware County sewer district: where each one says the owner's sewer lateral ends, what to do first, which cities pay for backwater valves and sump pumps, what the codes say about downspouts, and what the Ohio Department of Insurance says a homeowners policy usually covers.
Last updated September 2026 · Rules are each town's codified ordinances and sewer pages, and the Ohio Department of Insurance's guide, each read September 24, 2026 · No prices on this page; the Estimate Builder carries those · Part of the knowledge base
The short answer
The sewer lateral is the pipe that carries a house's wastewater to the public sewer. In every Central Ohio code or city page read for this page that says where the household's responsibility ends, it ends at the public sewer, or at the wye fitting on it, not at the property line or the curb. Columbus says so in its city code, section 1145.05: the owner is responsible for maintaining the building sewer, the lateral, to the point of connection with the publicly owned sewer. Seven suburbs adopt that Columbus sewer chapter into their own codes by reference. Four towns' codes do not say either way. None of the sixteen towns read draws the line at the property line or the right-of-way, as some other Ohio cities do; those are on the page on sewer laterals and house drains, which also covers what laterals are made of and how they fail.
Town by town
| Town | Where the owner's responsibility runs to | Code section or page |
|---|---|---|
| Columbus | To the point of connection with the publicly owned sewer | City Code 1145.05, in effect October 1, 2012, amended 2021 |
| Upper Arlington | Privately owned and maintained by each property owner, in the city's 2020 report; the code adopts the Columbus chapter | Codified Ordinances 931.15; 2020 water-in-basement report |
| Worthington | Including the wye at the main, the property owner's responsibility, on the city's page; the code adopts the Columbus chapter | City sewer page; Codified Ordinances 929.01, 2020 |
| Grandview Heights | Through to the wye branch connection and up to the city's sewer main | Codified Ordinances 935.02, 2019 |
| Westerville | The homeowner's responsibility, on the city's page; the code adopts the Columbus chapter | City sewer backup page; Codified Ordinances 936.21 |
| Dublin | Adopts the Columbus chapter as it now exists and as later amended | Codified Ordinances 51.05, 1990 |
| Gahanna | From the main to the building, the property owner's, on the city's page; the code adopts the Columbus chapter | City FAQ; Codified Ordinances 921.09 and 921.14, 2014 |
| Hilliard | Adopts the Columbus chapter; the owner bears installation costs | Codified Ordinances 949.25 and 949.06 |
| Grove City | Adopts the Columbus chapter; the owner bears all costs and needs a permit to repair the building sewer | Codified Ordinances 935.14, 1990; 939.10 |
| Delaware (city) | The whole distance from the house to the place of connection with the public sewer | Codified Ordinances 917.08, passed November 24, 2025 |
| Newark | From the building to the point of connection with the public sewer | Codified Ordinances 1040.08, 1991 |
| Marysville | The private extension from the building plumbing to the public sewer; the owner pays installation, connection, repair and maintenance | Codified Ordinances 900.01 and 921.04, 2013 |
| Delaware County Regional Sewer District | From the branch joint of the wye onto the property | Rules and Regulations 105.93, 2018 |
| Bexley | Not stated in the code read | Codified Ordinances chapter 1044 |
| Whitehall | Not stated in the code read, and no adoption of the Columbus chapter found | Codified Ordinances 913.01 |
| Reynoldsburg | Not stated in the code read, and no adoption of the Columbus chapter found | Codified Ordinances, recodified 2024 |
| Lancaster | Not stated in the code read; the owner bears installation and connection costs | Codified Ordinances 912.04, 1986 |
Unincorporated Franklin County is not in the table; no county sewer document was read for it. A town listed as not stated may say so somewhere not read here, and not stated is not the same as a boundary short of the main. Where a code sets the size of a lateral, Columbus and several others say not less than six inches.
When sewage comes up a floor drain
The cities that publish instructions agree on the first step: call the city, so the city can check its own main. Columbus, Upper Arlington, Hilliard and Whitehall all say so, and Columbus and Whitehall say to do it before calling a plumber. Columbus says there is no charge for the city to check the main, which it does from the nearest manhole. If the city's main is clear, the blockage is in the lateral, and in each of those towns that is the owner's to clear, with a plumber. Westerville says that in most cases its crew still jets the city's own sewer, in case the suction dislodges a blockage in the lateral. Project Dry Basement in Columbus requires the backup to be reported within 24 hours.
What cities pay for, and what they do not
| Program | Who is eligible | What is paid |
|---|---|---|
| Columbus, Project Dry Basement | A single or two-family home in Columbus, rentals included with a plumbing inspection; the backup reported to the city within 24 hours and found by city staff to be caused by excess rain water in the sanitary sewers, in the fact sheet's words; the program's web page also names blockages | An approved backwater device with no direct cost to the homeowner for basic installation; extra work such as rerouting the service line is itemized for the owner; the owner maintains the device |
| Grove City, Sanitary Sewer Backup Prevention Program | Single-family homes in a mapped area by the program document, widened by council to all eligible homes built before 1975 by a city notice of August 20, 2026; taxes current, first come first served; homes in a floodplain may be ineligible | All costs of the initial assessment and of a backwater device, a new sump pump where none exists, or a lateral repair, subject to appropriations, until the funds set aside for the program are spent |
| Upper Arlington, Backflow Prevention Program | Residents with a backup during a rain event, after a questionnaire and a plumber's inspection including a video of the lateral | No amount published |
| Upper Arlington, inflow and infiltration areas | Only in areas council designates | The city pays to line or replace private laterals, redirect downspouts and add cleanouts; the owner maintains them afterward |
| Hilliard, Sanitary Backflow Program | Repeated basement flooding from sanitary backups caused by rain, after a form and a property inspection | The city will help fund the cost; no amount published |
No city read pays to clean up after a backup. Columbus says it does not assist with the cleanup of private property, and Whitehall says backup damage and cleanup costs are not reimbursable by the city except in rare circumstances. Bexley proposed a funding program for backflow devices to its council in 2020; its outcome was not found. The Columbus program, its history since 2004 and the city's Blueprint Columbus work on laterals and sump pumps are on the page on Columbus sewers, then and now.
How often it happens
Upper Arlington counted 244 homes with water in the basement from two storms, on March 20 and May 19, 2020, which its report describes as about 25-year storms, and 189 of those homes are served by sanitary sewers in rear or side yards rather than in front. Dublin's report to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency for 2024 counts one water-in-basement event, in dry weather, from grease and debris in the main, and three wet-weather overflows, all at one manhole. Columbus files a yearly report of its own to the same agency; its 2025 figures are in a scanned document and are not printed here until they are read from the page itself.
Downspouts, sump pumps and foundation drains
Every town's code read for this page bars roof or storm water from the sanitary sewer, directly or by adopting the Columbus chapter; most also name foundation, footer or subsoil drains, and several name sump pump discharge. Clear water that gets into a sanitary sewer is what the page on sewer laterals calls inflow and infiltration. Bexley's code sends sump discharge to the curb underdrain or another approved storm drain, and Grove City's code says that in new construction a sump pump shall be installed in each basement. Upper Arlington gives an owner 60 days after notice to disconnect a drain that runs to the sanitary sewer, and Grandview Heights says the city may disconnect such downspouts itself.
Insurance
The Ohio Department of Insurance's homeowners guide lists water damage from a sewer backup or basement leak among the typical exclusions of a homeowners policy, and says coverage can usually be added with an endorsement, an amendment to the policy. Westerville's page says many insurers require a rider for it. What a given policy covers is in the policy; what the standard homeowners form says about water, and the time limits some policies put on a slow leak, are on the page on homeowners insurance and bathroom water damage. Flood insurance is a separate federal program; claims by ZIP code are on the page on flood insurance claims in Central Ohio.
The short version. Columbus City Code 1145.05 makes the property owner responsible for the sewer lateral all the way to the point where it connects with the public sewer, and Upper Arlington, Worthington, Westerville, Dublin, Gahanna, Hilliard and Grove City adopt that Columbus chapter into their own codes. Grandview Heights, Delaware, Newark and Marysville say the same in their own words; no Central Ohio town read stops the owner's pipe at the property line. Cities ask to be called first after a backup so they can check their main. Columbus's Project Dry Basement and Grove City's program pay for backwater devices in qualifying homes; no city read pays for cleanup, and the Ohio Department of Insurance lists sewer backup as a typical homeowners exclusion that can be added by endorsement.
Sources
Every figure, date and quotation on this page comes from one of these documents, read on the date given. Where two of them disagree, the page says so.
- City of Columbus, Columbus City Codes, sections 1145.05 and 1139.05, through the codifier's supplement codified through Ordinance 0923-2026; read September 24, 2026.
- The codified ordinances of Upper Arlington, Gahanna, Hilliard, Reynoldsburg, Delaware and Marysville at Municode, and of Bexley, Worthington, Grandview Heights, Westerville, Dublin, Whitehall, Grove City, Newark and Lancaster at American Legal Publishing, each current edition; read September 24, 2026.
- City of Columbus, Project Dry Basement fact sheet and program page, and the sewer questions page; read September 24, 2026.
- City of Upper Arlington, water-in-basement summary report, September 15, 2020, and Backflow Prevention Program; read September 24, 2026.
- City of Grove City, Sanitary Sewer Backup Prevention Program and its program document, and city notice of August 20, 2026, read September 25, 2026; City of Hilliard, Sanitary Backflow Program page; read September 24, 2026.
- City of Dublin, 2024 Annual SSO and WIB Report; read September 24, 2026.
- The sewer and backup pages of Worthington, Grandview Heights, Westerville, Gahanna, Whitehall and Bexley, each on the city's own site; read September 24, 2026.
- Delaware County Regional Sewer District, Rules and Regulations, 2018 edition; read September 24, 2026.
- Ohio Department of Insurance, Homeowners Insurance Guide; read September 24, 2026.
- Ohio Revised Code section 729.51, the city power to regulate house sewers and their connections; read September 24, 2026.
Common questions
Who is responsible for the sewer lateral under the street in Columbus?
The property owner. Columbus City Code section 1145.05 makes the owner responsible for maintaining the building sewer, the lateral, to the point of connection with the publicly owned sewer, and names no stopping point short of it such as the property line or the curb. Upper Arlington, Worthington, Westerville, Dublin, Gahanna, Hilliard and Grove City adopt that Columbus chapter into their own codes.
Does any Central Ohio town split the sewer lateral at the property line?
None of the sixteen town codes read for this page does. Grandview Heights, Delaware, Newark, Marysville, Gahanna and Worthington each say in their own words that the owner's pipe runs to the main or the wye on it, and seven suburbs adopt the Columbus rule. Bexley, Whitehall, Reynoldsburg and Lancaster do not say either way in the code read.
Who should be called first when sewage backs up into a basement?
The city. Columbus, Upper Arlington, Hilliard and Whitehall all say to call the city first so it can check its own main, and Columbus and Whitehall say to do that before calling a plumber. Columbus says there is no charge for that check, and its Project Dry Basement program requires a backup to be reported within 24 hours.
Will Columbus pay for a backwater valve?
Under Project Dry Basement, a single or two-family home in Columbus can get an approved backwater device with no direct cost to the homeowner for basic installation, when a backup has been reported within 24 hours and city staff find it was caused by excess rain water in the sanitary sewers. Extra work, such as rerouting the service line, is itemized for the owner.
Will a city pay to clean up after a sewer backup?
None of the Central Ohio cities read for this page says it will. Columbus says it does not assist with the cleanup of private property, and Whitehall says backup damage and cleanup costs are not reimbursable by the city except in rare circumstances.
Which Central Ohio suburbs help pay to prevent sewer backups?
Grove City's program document says the city pays all costs of a backwater device, a new sump pump where none exists, or a lateral repair for single-family homes in a mapped area, which a city notice of August 20, 2026 says council widened the program to all eligible Grove City homes built before 1975, subject to appropriations and until the program's funds are spent. Upper Arlington and Hilliard run backflow programs but publish no amount, and Upper Arlington pays for lateral lining in areas its council designates.
Can a sump pump or downspout drain into the sanitary sewer in Central Ohio?
No. Every town code read for this page bars roof water and downspouts from the sanitary sewer, most also bar foundation or footer drains, and several name sump pump discharge. Bexley sends sump discharge to the curb underdrain or another approved storm drain.
Does homeowners insurance cover a sewer backup in Ohio?
The Ohio Department of Insurance lists water damage from a sewer backup or basement leak among the typical exclusions of a homeowners policy, and says coverage can usually be added with an endorsement. What a given policy covers is in the policy itself.
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