Residents offered sewer-line warranty program
By Nate Ellis
This month, the city of Pickerington and a private utility-line warranty company will begin offering a program to inspect and repair residential sanitary-sewer lines.
Pickerington residents were expected to receive mailings this week detailing the new “service-line warranty program.”
The program, which is offered by the city, the National League of Cities and Service Line Warranties of America (SLWA), is being billed as a way to provide low-cost warranty protection for homeowners’ sewer lines.
“Many citizens are unaware that they are responsible for the sewer lines that go from their houses to the utility connection,” said Ed Drobina, Pickerington service manager. “The service-line warranty program offers citizens an affordable way to avoid the unexpected and often large expense involved with a sewer-line break.”
Under the program, citizens can purchase warranty protection for $5.95 per month, which would cover sewer line repairs up to $4,000, plus an additional allowance of $4,000 for public street cutting, if needed. The program is being offered at no cost to the city and no public funds are being used to promote the program.
“SLWA uses only local licensed plumbers to complete the repair, which helps to keep the dollars in the local economy,” Drobina said. “SLWA enjoys a 96-percent customer satisfaction rating and is endorsed by the National League of Cities, an organization that serves as a resource and an advocate for over 19,000 cities, villages, and towns across the country.”
SLWA will not inspect the lines under the terms of the program agreement. However, if customers have a break or leak in their lines, they can contact SLWA’s 24-hour service center and a licensed plumber would be dispatched to make the repair. The program has no service fees, annual caps or deductibles for the resident, Drobina said.
“If residents are enrolled in the sewer-line warranty program and they have a break or leak in their line, SLWA will repair or replace their line,” he said. “Other than a low monthly fee, the resident pays nothing out of pocket should they need a repair, and there is also no worry associated with reimbursement.
“If they have a break, they only have to make one call to SLWA and SLWA handles the rest. SLWA will dispatch the local contractor and all associated costs will be paid directly by SLWA.”
Drobina said after every repair is completed, a customer-satisfaction survey is sent to the homeowner for evaluation of the service received.