LR panel to address pipe-scan plan

Consultant advised requiring video inspection for sewer lines

By L. Lamor Williams

Posted: July 28, 2009 at 5:45 a.m.

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LITTLE ROCK — A Little Rock Wastewater task force is set to meet today to brainstorm ways to carry out recommendations to require video camera inspections and repairs to sewer lines before certain homes are sold in the city.

Earlier this month, Raftelis Financial Consultants Inc. of Kansas City, Mo., presented to the Sanitary Sewer Committee, the results of a three-year cost-of-service and rate study that included the recommendations that were crafted by the utility's rate advisory committee. At the meeting, Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola raised several questions that he said city directors were sure to want answers to.

In the inspections, which can cost more than $200, a video camera is snaked through a home's sewer line to record and find any damage. The current proposal would require either the wastewater utility or a certified plumber to perform the service. After any needed repairs, "certification of acceptable condition" of the sewer line is required before the sale of the home.

While some are concerned that the extra cost of an inspection might turn away buyers, others say the inspection is a small price to pay to avoid a surprise repair bill that can reach thousands of dollars.

Homes less than five years old and those inspected within five years of the sale would be exempt under the current proposal.

The Sanitary Sewer Committee also proposed a $274 connection fee for new customers to join the city sewer line.

Ethan Nobles, a spokesman for the Arkansas Realtors Association, said the group has no position on the proposed ordinance.

"We generally are against connection fees because we do believe that has an impact onhome sales," Nobles said. "However, we're not taking a position because there's no ordinance to look at. We're not going to stubbornly oppose it, but we do not believe in fees absent a very good reason."

The utility says that 40 percent of infiltration - groundwater and storm water seeping into the sanitary sewer lines causing overflows - is from customers' leaky pipes. The goal is to someday have all the older pipes repaired or replaced, Reggie Corbitt, the utility's chief executive officer, has said.

The cost of the inspection was a major concern for the mayor, who said he didn't want high fees to affect home sales in Little Rock. Stodola also questioned the five-year exemption, suggesting that maybe the number should be higher. He said some of the language such as "certification of acceptable condition" was ambiguous and asked for a comparison of Little Rock to any similar-sized citiesthat require such inspections.

Joe Schaffner, a spokesman for the utility, said the task force will discuss all those issues.

"Our first meeting is [Tuesday] so we don't have all the definite answers for the mayor's questions," Schaffner said. "We'll define the plumbers who have the capabilities to perform the inspections; what they charge; what we should charge if we do it. We have to answer all these questions."

A search of the phone book finds at least nine area plumbers that perform video inspections costing from about $180 up to $269.

The cost of the inspection will likely be of little concern to home buyers, said Rick Cross, owner of two Roto-Rooter Plumbers franchises.

"I don't see the cost of camera inspection having a dramatic effect on the purchase and sale of homes, but the results of the inspection could affect the purchase of a house," Cross said.

Nobles said the cost of the camera inspection or even minor repair costs would likely become another part of the negotiating process between buyers and sellers if the measure is approved.

"I'll use me and my wife for an example," he said. "When we bought our house, the inspector found about $500 in repairs would be needed, so we told the sellers we need a check for $500 and when we closed, we got a check for $500 to pay for the repairs."

Woody Arrowood, district general manager of Arrow Plumbing, and Cross both noted that the inspections are a good idea, especially for anyone with a home 20 years old or older.

The reason is that homes of that age likely have Orangeburg sewer pipes, they said. The pipes are made of compressed paper and wood pulp that will eventually have to be replaced.

"If you're in a house that's 20 plus years old, you're on borrowed time my friend," Arrowood said. "That was the most common sewer line material 20 to 30 years ago and I can almost guarantee that you'll have Orangeburg in an organized subdivision that's 20 years old."

Arrowood said his company is often called to homes where the new owner didn't know that the "old owner had to have their lines rootered out two or three times a year or that there had already been several repairs."

"Whether or not you see the inspections as a good thing depends on your perspective," Arrowood said. "If you're a buyer's agent you would want to know if you may be facing a $3,000 repair bill. If you're a seller's agent, you might not want the inspection.

"Let's say you paid X amount of dollars for a house and have lived there for three months. All of a sudden you have sewer backing up into your shower, overflowing your toilet. You find out you've got Orangeburg pipe and it's all collapsed. You'll have no choice but to spend all this extra money to get it fixed because you can't stay there. You'd be angry and you'd be asking 'Why didn't I know about this before I bought the house?'We see this all the time in the plumbing industry."

Cross said it's difficult to estimate the cost of a repair without having specific details of a home. He said repairs can range anywhere from $2,000 to $15,000 depending on the depth, length and location of the sewer line. Arrowood said a homeowner should expect to spend at least $40 to $60 per foot of sewer line on repairs.

The plumbers said repairs vary in cost for a variety of reasons. For example, a sewer line underneath a driveway or street is more expensive to repair than one under a yard because the pavement has to be torn up and then replaced, they said.

Arrowood added that deeper lines require heavier equipment and more work. For example, he said state law requires the shoring of trench walls once a depth of four feet is reached.

The inspections will help protect home buyers, Arrowood said.

"At one time, you wouldn't have known if the foundation of the house you were buying was damaged, but then home inspections became required," Arrowood said. "I think these inspections would be a benefit overall. They'll keep honesty out there and let people know what they're buying."

Northwest Arkansas, Pages 12 on 07/28/2009

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