City Recommends Low-Cost Insurance for Water and Sewer Lines

SAN ANGELO, TX — The City of San Angelo has negotiated a low-cost insurance option for citizens within the city limits through HomeServe for their water and sewer lines.

For residents in zip code 76901, insurance for only your external fresh water line costs $8.98 per month with a maximum annual benefit of $7,000. Sewer line insurance is $13.99 per year with a $10,000 annual benefit. HomeServe also offers additional options covering inside plumbing and drainage.

According to the City of San Angelo, "Homeowners are often unaware that they are responsible for these types of repair costs, which are also not covered by typical homeowners insurance."

Repairs of fresh water or sewer lines can cost thousands of dollars.

The City of Lubbock is currently facing challenges regarding repairs of sanitary sewer lateral lines. Until this year, the City of Lubbock fixed lateral connections for residential sewage customers as a courtesy. However, the public works director found that over 50% of work crews' time was spent on these privately-owned laterals, deferring maintenance on essential city infrastructure like fire hydrants, water mains, and sewer lines.

As a result, a new ordinance was enacted requiring private property owners to repair their sewer laterals at their own expense. Passed late last year, it took effect on January 1. This caused an uproar in time for the regular city council and mayoral elections prompting the new council to seek solutions.

This week, the Lubbock City Council heard options from an ad hoc citizens committee, which met 10 times since May. The committee found that about 1,000 private sewer lateral repairs are performed each year. Many homes built until the mid-1970s had sewer laterals made of Orangeburg pipe, which posed a significant problem.

Lubbock City Engineer Lloyd Franklin told the council that Orangeburg pipe is no stronger than the cardboard center of a roll of paper towels dipped in tar. Insuring Lubbock residents with Orangeburg sewer laterals could be challenging for companies like HomeServe.

The ad hoc committee recommended a one-time subsidy of up to $2,500 per residential sewer lateral repair. With 1,000 repairs annually, this would amount to a $2.5 million annual spending program, which the council found unsatisfactory, so the search for solutions continues.

San Angelo benefits from the HomeServe insurance option, which can save both the city and homeowners money. In Lubbock, the average cost to fix a private sewer lateral line connection is between $3,500 and $4,500, according to testimony at this week's Lubbock City Council meeting.

For more information on HomeServe sewer lateral and fresh water line insurance options, visit their website or call 1-844-257-8795.