OVERVIEW

The aim of MSD's Sewer Backup (SBU) Program is to help mitigate the impact of sewer backups caused by the MSD public sewer and to help educate the community about preventing and protecting their property from sewer backups caused by private building sewers or overland flooding.

The SBU program has been in operation since January 2004 and was the first of its kind in the nation. Previously known as the Water-in-Basement or WIB program, it is required under MSD's Consent Decree.

Since its inception, the program has handled on average about 3,000-6,000 reports of potential sewer backups every year.

• View our SBU Program Report  This report, which is updated monthly, provides information on the number of properties served by our program and dollars spent.

SERVICES

The SBU program provides the following services to MSD customers:

• 24/7 reporting of sewer backups by phone at (513) 352-4900 or online. Sewer backups must be reported to MSD within 48 hours of discovery to be potentially eligible for claims.
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• Investigation of the sewer backup to determine whether it's covered by MSD's SBU Program.
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• Cleaning services for eligible properties.
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• Reimbursement of damages for eligible properties.
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• Protection from future sewer backups for eligible properties.
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OMBUDSMAN

The ombudsman for MSD's SBU Program is the Legal Aid Society of Greater Cincinnati. If you have questions MSD cannot answer, you can contact the Legal Aid Society at (513) 362-2801.

ELIGIBILITY

Not all sewer backups are eligible for assistance from MSD.

Did you know most (>85%) sewer backups are caused by clogs or breaks in private building sewers and are not eligible for the SBU program? (see graph below). Backups from the MSD public sewer are most typically caused by lack of capacity in the sewer during rainstorms.

Understanding sewer responsibility is important when it comes to sewer backups (see illustration below). The public sewer is owned and operated by MSD. Private building sewers, which extend from the building to the point of connection with the MSD public sewer, are owned by property owners.

Property owners are responsible for:

• Keeping the entire length of the private building sewer clear of clogs, even the parts that lie under the publicly owned sidewalks and streets.
• Repairing broken or collapsed portions that are located on your private property.

MSD is responsible for:

• Keeping the public sewer running and free of clogs.
• Repairing broken private building sewers if the broken section is located within an easement or public right-of-way (ROW).

Scroll down to learn what's eligible for MSD assistance and what's not.