Start with what is actually happening

You do not need to know what a lateral is, or what a cleanout is, to use this. Pick the description that sounds most like what is happening at your property.

Each one restates what you selected, separates what you noticed from what that actually establishes, and points you at the single thing worth reading next — rather than at a list of everything on the site.

You can change your selection at any point. Nothing is sent anywhere, and you are not asked who you are.

What this page cannot establish

choosing a situation here records what you noticed; it does not establish what is causing it
SewerOwner cannot narrow this to a cause, a location, or a condition
nothing you select is transmitted anywhere or seen by anyone

Which of these sounds most like your situation?

Pick one. You can change it at any time, and nothing is sent anywhere.

What would change the answer

nothing to begin
anything you already hold — invoices, a report, a notice — makes later steps more useful, but none is needed here

What to do next

Each situation leads to one guide chosen for it, rather than to a list of everything on the site.

If your situation is different

None of the situations fit: Browse the full topic index
You want to understand the system before describing anything: Understand how a residential sewer system is arranged

If you want a second read

You can describe what you have been told and have a person read it. They will say which question is still unanswered, or say that they cannot help — there is no contractor network behind this site, nothing is routed anywhere, and no request reaches a company.

Ask someone to look at what you have been told

Project brief
What you work out here can be recorded in a brief you keep and print.
What we cannot determine
The limits that apply to every path through this orientation.
Decision engine
Ten questions that narrow which problem you are facing before you read about any of them.