Plumbing in Lincoln, IL

Lincoln Plumbing Under a 1930s Combined-Flow Sewer

Lincoln's sewer plant dates to the 1930s and was designed to take sanitary sewage and storm water together (City of Lincoln). The Illinois EPA required a plan for wet-weather overflows in 2013 and approved it in October 2016. The city says that plan treats combined sewage in big rains and does not replace or rehabilitate aging mains.

So the street mains stay old. About one home in five dates to 1939 or earlier, and two in five went up in the 1960s and 1970s, so a lateral here can be clay, cast iron or plastic.

Salt Creek Flats, Storm Surges and Coal Under the West Edge

Lincoln sits on flat ground at about 589 feet near Salt Creek, and its sewer system takes a very different load in the rain. The city lists normal plant flow at about 2 to 10 million gallons a day and storm flow as high as 33.5 million. When a shared system swells like that, the lowest fixture in a house is where trouble shows, usually a basement floor drain.

Coal is the quieter risk. The state geological survey's mine records say two workings, the Citizens Coal mine from 1883 and the Brewerton mine from 1903, lie under the west edge of the city. A lateral that keeps sagging on that side of town deserves a camera before anyone digs. Logan County is also on the state's list of 34 counties where property policies include subsidence coverage unless the owner declined it in writing, so read yours.

Sixty Minutes Each Way on I-155 and I-55

We run I-74 east to Morton, then I-155 south for about 32 miles to I-55, and Illinois Route 10 at exit 126 into Lincoln. A trip here takes most of a half day on the road, so we favor work that can be grouped and booked.

Here is what a booked visit looks like:

1. You call and describe the drains.
2. We tell you whether we can come and which day.
3. We clear or inspect the line, starting at the cleanout.
4. You get a clear, upfront quote for anything beyond that.

Planned Work That Suits the Distance

Illinois American Water for the Tap, the City for the Sewer

Water in Lincoln comes from a private utility, not the city. Illinois American Water draws groundwater from the Mahomet Teays Valley Aquifer and built a new Broadwell treatment plant to replace its older one. Sewers belong to the city, so report a street main problem to City Hall at 700 Broadway, open weekdays from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM.

The same split applies to your bill and your questions: a taste, pressure or hardness concern goes to Illinois American Water, and a street sewer issue goes to the city. The private drain between the two is the owner's, and that is the part a booked visit from us can reach.

Ask any plumber for an Illinois license number and check it on the IDPH lookup. Up I-55, Bloomington is the next long-drive town on this side, and McLean County lists the towns around it.