The city has launched a water and sewer line protection program this week to prevent homeowners from paying to repair breaks in their connection to the city’s water main.
Carter Strickland, commissioner of the city’s Department of Environmental Protection, said it costs property owners anywhere between $3,000 and $5,000 to repair a water line break and between $10,000 and $15,000 to fix a sewer line break.
Now, homeowners can pay a monthly fee to cover potential service line issues.
State Sen. Tony Avella, D-Bayside, praised the DEP’s program. Recently, he held a press conference to discuss the financial burden incurred by homeowners who had been forced to repair breaks in their connection to the city’s water main.
In many cases, the connections had been broken under the city’s streets.
“I am pleased that the Department of Environmental Protection heeded my call and will finally provide some relief for homeowners who are burdened with having to repair their sewer lines at a prohibitive cost,” Avella said. “At least with this new insurance policy, homeowners will be able to defray the cost of repairs for a broken service line with a nominal monthly fee.”
The DEP has selected American Water Resources as the provider for the program. Water customers would pay $3.99 per month for water line protection and $7.99 per month for sewer line protection.
