SewerOwner

Evidence and where it came from

Six weeks after a sewer conversation, most people can no longer reliably say whether they saw something, were told it, or read it. That is entirely normal, and it is expensive.

The fix is unglamorous: attach a source to every statement at the moment you record it. This is the discipline the project brief enforces, and it is why the brief prints with a provenance legend rather than a tidy summary.

What this page cannot establish

  • recording who said something does not make it true or false
  • SewerOwner cannot verify any statement made to you by anyone
  • provenance is a filing discipline, not a credibility judgement

The provenance categories used across this site

Every piece of information in a project record carries exactly one of these. They are never merged.

You recorded this
You entered this yourself. It reflects what you noticed or what you were told, not a verified finding.
A contractor reportedly stated this
You recorded this as something a contractor said. SewerOwner has not confirmed it and cannot confirm it.
An inspector reportedly stated this
You recorded this as something an inspector said. SewerOwner has not confirmed it and cannot confirm it.
A municipality or utility reportedly stated this
You recorded this as something a municipality or utility said. Confirm anything that affects responsibility or permits directly with that office.
A document reports this
You recorded this as appearing in a document you hold. The document itself is the record, not this summary of it.
SewerOwner general information
General educational information from SewerOwner. It is not specific to your property and establishes nothing about it.
Source not recorded
The source of this information was not recorded.

Why "not checked" is not the same as "no"

The other half of the discipline is being precise about absence. "There is no cleanout" and "nobody has found a cleanout" are different statements, and only one of them is an observation. So is the difference between "there are no roots" and "the section we inspected showed no roots".

This platform keeps four kinds of absence apart — unknown, not checked, looked and did not observe, and not applicable — everywhere they occur, including in the printed brief. Collapsing them into a blank or a "no" is the single most common way a record misleads the person relying on it.

What each kind of evidence reliably shows

A document is strong evidence of some things and weak evidence of others. These are the distinctions worth holding onto.

Camera video

A recording made by a camera pushed through the line.

Reliably shows: what the camera lens could see along the path it travelled; the order in which features were passed. Recordings are routinely deleted or overwritten. A copy you hold is the only version that survives a change of contractor, and it is frequently the single most valuable item in a sewer file.

Cannot establish: the condition of any part of the line the camera did not reach; the significance of anything visible in the frame; ownership or responsibility; structural capacity or code compliance; that a given repair method is appropriate.

Still images

Photographs taken from the footage or on site.

Reliably shows: what was in frame at the moment the image was captured. Stills are easy to share and easy to misread. Keeping them alongside the recording they came from preserves the context that makes them meaningful.

Cannot establish: what conditions exist outside the frame; the extent of anything visible; the sequence of events.

Written inspection report

A document describing what an inspection covered and observed.

Reliably shows: what the inspector recorded as observed; the scope the inspector says was covered. A written report ties statements to a date and an author. Recollections of a verbal explanation do not survive a disagreement; a dated document does.

Cannot establish: that the observations are correctly identified; that the recommendations follow from the observations; the condition of anything outside the stated scope.

Marked locations

Notes or marks identifying where along the line something was observed.

Reliably shows: where the person recording it believed the observation sat. A location is what lets a second opinion look at the same place. Without one, a later inspection cannot be compared to an earlier one.

Cannot establish: an exact position on the property surface; the depth of the line at that point; that a later inspection measured from the same reference point.

Footage or distance markers

Distance readings displayed by the camera equipment during an inspection.

Reliably shows: how much cable the equipment counted from its starting point. Distance readings let observations be discussed precisely rather than approximately.

Cannot establish: a position on the surface of the property; the depth of the pipe at that reading; the same reading from a different access point.

Locating marks

Surface marks placed where equipment indicated the line runs below.

Reliably shows: where the person performing the locate believed the line ran. Marks disappear. A dated photograph of them is what remains, and route information changes how access, restoration, and excavation are discussed.

Cannot establish: the exact position or depth of the pipe; the condition of the pipe below the marks; the position of other buried services.

Cleaning invoice

A bill describing cleaning work performed on the line.

Reliably shows: that work was billed on a date; what the contractor described as done. Cleaning invoices accumulate into a maintenance history. The pattern of dates across several invoices is often more informative than any single one.

Cannot establish: the condition of the line; that the work resolved anything; that the full line was reached.

Repair invoice

A bill describing repair or replacement work performed.

Reliably shows: that work was billed on a date; what the contractor described as done. A repair invoice is the boundary marker for future work. The next contractor needs to know where the previous one stopped.

Cannot establish: that the work was performed correctly; the current condition of the repaired section; that a warranty remains enforceable.

Permit record

An official record that work was permitted.

Reliably shows: that a permit was issued for a described scope on a date. Permit records are held by an office rather than by a contractor, which makes them durable in a way that private paperwork is not.

Cannot establish: that the work matched the permitted scope; that the work was performed well; that no other work occurred without a permit.

Municipal or utility notice

A letter or notice issued by an operating authority.

Reliably shows: what the issuing office stated in writing on a date. The exact wording governs. Summaries of notices — including a contractor’s summary — regularly differ from what the notice says.

Cannot establish: that the notice is correct as applied to your property; what the consequences of the deadline are; that the described work is your responsibility.

Utility map or responsibility document

A record from an operating authority showing routes or stating responsibility.

Reliably shows: what the authority’s own record shows, as of its date. This is the document that can move a responsibility question from unknown toward established. Nothing a contractor says substitutes for it.

Cannot establish: the precise position of a buried pipe; that the record is complete or current; a boundary for any other address.

Proposal

A written offer describing work a contractor would perform.

Reliably shows: what the contractor committed to in writing. The written proposal is what governs, not the conversation. Comparing proposals is comparing documents.

Cannot establish: that the described work is appropriate for the property; that the price is reasonable; that omitted items are excluded; the contractor’s competence or workmanship.

Warranty terms

The written terms of any guarantee offered.

Reliably shows: what the written terms say. A warranty is only as good as its written terms and the records proving its conditions were met.

Cannot establish: that a warranty will be honoured; that a longer term is better than a shorter one; that coverage extends to a situation not described in it.

Property disclosure

A statement made during a transaction about known property conditions.

Reliably shows: what was stated at the time of the transaction. A disclosure records what was known and said at a point in time, which can matter well after the transaction closes.

Cannot establish: that the statement was complete; the condition of the line; that undisclosed work did not occur.

Prior owner statement

Something a previous owner said about the property.

Reliably shows: what the prior owner said, if it was recorded. It can point toward records that do exist — a contractor name, an approximate year, a permit to search for.

Cannot establish: that the statement is accurate; the condition of the line; that work described actually occurred.

Homeowner recollection

What you remember, where no document exists.

Reliably shows: what you recall, recorded on the date you recorded it. Recollection is legitimate evidence as long as it is labelled as recollection. Written down now, it stays useful; left unrecorded, it degrades.

Cannot establish: anything about the physical condition of the line; dates or details with precision.

What would change the answer

  • for each thing you believe: who said it, when, and whether it is written down anywhere

What to do next

The brief is built around this distinction and keeps it through printing, so what you take to a meeting is already labelled.

Record what you have with its source attached

If your situation is different

Related, and why