Monday, March 22, 2010

Best Practices for “Sewer-Safe” Landscaping to Minimize Pipeline Root Intrusion

If you do have the need to landscape your yard or business homeowners or businesses landscape professionals should be mindful of the location of sewer laterals or sewer lines and clean out pipes when planning landscapes.  The general recommendation is to choose small, slow-growing species, varieties with less aggressive root systems and to replace them before they get too large for their planting area. 

In an effort to reduce the amount of root intrusion into sanitary sewer lines, we recommend landscaping with trees and shrubs that are more “sewer safe.” If you must plant trees or shrubs plant them at least 10 feet away from your sewer pipe lines and choose slower growing trees and shrubs in order to minimize the possibility of roots invading your sewer pipes.  There are tree and shrub species with aggressive root systems and these should be avoided if at all possible.   Remember there is no such thing as a “sewer safe” tree but by using smaller, slower growing trees your sewer lines should be safer from aggressive invasion of tree roots.

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