Sewer Camera Inspection in Redlands, CA

Who should I contact about the public sewer in Redlands?

The City of Redlands Municipal Utilities & Engineering Department provides drinking water to Redlands, Mentone and nearby areas, and it includes a wastewater treatment section. Who provides sewer service can vary by address, so the sewer charge on your utility statement is the best guide to whom to call. Contact that agency when several homes on the street are backing up together, which points to a public main. If only your house is affected, the problem is almost always in your private line, and a plumber with a camera is the right first call.

What might the camera find under a Redlands home?

We do not have a citywide build-year figure for Redlands, so each house has to be judged on its own. In older homes, laterals can be clay or cast iron, and footage often shows roots that found their way in at joints, cracks, or sections that have drifted out of line after decades of small ground movements in earthquake country. Mature trees along established streets make root intrusion more likely. Newer homes usually have plastic pipe, where the common findings are a low spot that holds waste, a separated fitting or grease buildup. Slab construction means the first stretch of drain often runs under the floor, and the camera can follow it from a cleanout.

Will I need a permit if the line needs repair?

Clearing a line usually does not, but repairing or replacing a damaged section is plumbing work that typically does. The City of Redlands Building & Safety Division, through its One Stop Permit Center at 35 Cajon Street, issues plumbing permits and can be reached at 909-798-7536. Applications can be started on the city's online portal. Ask the plumber to mark the defect on the ground, note its depth and give you a copy of the footage, so you can compare any repair proposals against what the camera actually showed.

A local note

Through the hot, dry months, landscape trees send roots toward any moisture they can find, and a leaking sewer joint is an easy target. If drains in your Redlands home get slower every summer, filming the line before it stops entirely usually means a smaller fix.