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Is the Town Responsible for Flood Damage?

The answer to the question, “Is the city responsible for a sewer backup?” is a difficult one to answer. Technically, the city, town, or municipality probably should be responsible if the sewer backs up into your home causing flooding but proving this and getting them to pay is difficult at best. The problem is that while the municipality where you live owns the sewer system, they cannot control the weather, which can lead to a sewer failure. Heavy rains can overwhelm the system, causing sewage to back up into homeowners’ toilets, if the weather an area experiences is outside of the threshold of what the sewer system is rated for. For this reason, some areas have policies and laws on the books to protect municipalities from bearing undue risk. In these areas, municipalities are only responsible when error or misuse on their part causes a sewer backup. Local ordinances can also complicate matters, making the issue of who is responsible even more difficult to determine. If you have sewage backing up into your home, call an emergency clean up company to come out and get the problem fixed and contact your local police, town hall administrators, legislators, and anyone else who can help address the question of who is responsible financially.

Disclaimer: This article is meant for informational purposes only and should not be constituted as legal advice or local law interpretation.

Additional resources:
Home flood recovery resources
Is there mold in your house?
Filing a claim for flood damage
Responding to a flood
How fast can mold grow?
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Should you file an insurance claim for flooding?
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What you need to know about restoring a flooded basement
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