Should there be water in the 6-inch drainage pipe leading from the house to the street?
If so, how much, e.g. 1/4, 1/3, 1/2? I can see 1/2 of water in my 6-inch cast iron
backwater valve. Is this normal?
Thank you for any answers.



Edited 1 times.

the short answer is no.
backwater valves do require maintenance.

if after giving it a thorough cleaning you still have water laying in it then there is either a partial stoppage or there is a belly in the line?

[themdc.org].

IN the backwater valve itself, there could be a "pool" of water, but NOT in the pipe.

ditto hj

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"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638

Thank you for your answer. I called the service. After the man used a 75ft snake twice with 2 different fittings on the end of the snake, not much changed. He told me that it was normal for water to stand in a drain pipe 6" from the building to the street 1/2 the size of the pipe and asked me to pay $100. What should I do in this situation? Pipes in the basement are often clogged because it is an 8th-family house



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call in a licensed bonded insured plumber and ask for a camera inspection requesting a report on the pitch of the pipe


you may, or may not, have a 'belly' in the piping


you may, or may not, have proper/improper pitch


you may, or may not, have a 'partial stoppage'


only a camera inspection will tell

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"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638

Thank you bernabeu (SC)

It is NOT "normal"for water to stand in the pipe regardless of the size, UNLESS the pipe is connected to a smaller size pipe, which is illegal.

Every backwater valve I’ve ever seen has offset inlet and outlet by about a half inch, and seeing a small pool of water in the valve itself is not unusual

exactly.. the inlet is manufactured higher than the outlet.

Seat for the flapper automatically creates a small "ledge" creating a pool in the valve.

Quote

was normal for water to stand in a drain pipe 6" from the building to the street 1/2 the size of the pipe and asked me to pay $100.

No drain cleaner will guarantee to resolve your standing water via snaking. That standing water can be due to a variety of reasons, if he cleared the pipe of blockage then I would pay him the $100. That's just me where I am a service call to snake a line is several times higher with no guarantees.

Now that your line is cleared I would also suggest to have a camera inspection done. Should be able to tell what's going on. Run a faucet while inspecting so you can see some water running allowing you to tell which way is down. Make sure the inspection is done with a machine that is capable of (1) recording your inspection with sound so your conversation with the inspector is also recorded as you discussed what you are seeing on the camera (2) saving your recording onto a DVD or USB so you have a record of it for future references or more importantly if there is an issue you can use it to get estimates of a remedy (3) the video screw shows clearly the date/time of recording as well as the distance traveled so you can have an idea how far down certain "trouble spots" or tie in points are on the recording (4) that the operator has a locator on the camera itself and when you do see a trouble spot or points of interest, he can mark it on the ground with a probing device to pin point it and (5) inspect the pipe as the camera is pushed down the pipe and also record and inspect as it's pulled back at the end so you have twice the footage because many operator will stop the recording then pull back real fast, ask them to pull back slower and keep recording, and if you see a spot that looks like a break, or a belly or whatever, ask him to stop and have a discussion, so it's all on the recording.

Don't pay for an inspection where the operator just push the camera down and look around, and then say "oops, my recorder is broken" or "I didn't bring a DVD or USB" or "the distance gauge is broken" or "I can't record voice this machine is not doing it today"...make sure all these are agreed upon upfront with expectations known.