DeWitt Sewage Backup: Why Nobody Should Force the Drain Blind
In a town where most homes have a gas line coming in, National Grid wants a professional look at a sewer blockage before anyone tries to clear it.
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Tell us what the water is doing, whether it has stopped and whose home it is. A person reads every request and matches it to a licensed, insured plumber for the part that cannot wait. We cannot promise how soon a request sent at night is read, so close the main shutoff first.
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What DeWitt's gas service and the county sewer mean for a backup
ACS 2020 to 2024 estimates give the Town of DeWitt a median year built of 1963 across 10,996 housing units, with 79.3 percent of occupied units heating with utility gas, among the highest in this metro, 26.4 percent renter occupied, and 6.5 percent of units vacant.
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020 to 2024 five year estimates, accessed 2026-09-24
National Grid warns that unclogging sewer pipes can create gas leaks and asks customers to always have a professional inspection of sewage blockages before attempting to clear them. It explains that utilities have found gas pipes, and communications and electric wires, accidentally installed through sewer pipes, known as a cross bore, and that damage from clearing the sewer could lead to fires or explosions.
Source: National Grid, accessed 2026-09-24
Onondaga County WEP asks residents with sewage backing up to call 315-435-3157, which it answers at any time, every day, for properties connected to the public sewer inside the Consolidated Sanitary District. For City of Syracuse properties it directs the call to the City Department of Public Works on 315-448-CITY, 315-448-2489, and outside the district to the town or village, usually its DPW. Properties not on public sewer are told to contact a licensed plumber or service expert.
Source: Onondaga County Department of Water Environment Protection, accessed 2026-09-24
WEP states that its team inspects the public side of the sewer system, usually through the sewer cleanout or vent pipe, the mushroom cap in the yard, out to the road and into the public sewer. Its backup prevention page invites residents or their licensed plumber to call the same line to request an inspection if a problem may be in the public sewer.
Source: Onondaga County Department of Water Environment Protection, accessed 2026-09-24
Clearing a DeWitt backup without hitting a gas line
Sewage is coming up through a DeWitt floor drain, and the temptation is to rent a drain machine and push through it. Stop using water in the house instead, and phone WEP, which takes backup calls at any hour on 315-435-3157 because DeWitt is inside the county sewer district, to check whether the public side is blocked. The reason not to force it yourself is specific: National Grid warns that utilities have found gas pipes accidentally bored through sewer pipes, known as a cross bore, and that clearing the sewer can then cause a fire or explosion. It asks for a professional inspection of a sewage blockage before anyone tries to clear it.
Public sewer, house drain or a cross bore: sorting a DeWitt backup
About 79 percent of DeWitt homes heat with utility gas, so most houses here have a gas service in the ground alongside the sewer. That does not mean yours has a cross bore, and nothing here says the risk is higher in DeWitt than elsewhere. It means the warning applies to nearly every house in town. The order that follows is sensible: WEP checks the public side through the cleanout or vent cap; if that is clear, a licensed plumber finds where the blockage is before forcing anything through it; and if a gas smell appears at any point, everyone leaves and National Grid is told from outside.
No rented drain machine tonight
National Grid's advice is a professional inspection before clearing. A blind push through an unknown blockage is exactly what it warns against.
WEP first, from the yard
WEP inspects the public side through the cleanout or vent cap out to the road, and it also takes that request from a licensed plumber working for you.
Gas smell changes everything
If you smell gas during or after any drain work, leave, touch no switches, and report it to National Grid or 911 from outside.
DeWitt public sewer checked and still backing up?
Tell us which drain it is and whether anything has been pushed through it yet. We connect you with a licensed, insured plumber.
Other emergencies we connect DeWitt homes with a plumber for
DeWitt questions about sewer backups, drain clearing and gas lines
What is a cross bore, and should I worry about one in DeWitt?
It is a gas pipe, or an electric or communications line, that was accidentally installed through a sewer pipe. National Grid says clearing a sewer can damage one and lead to a fire or explosion. There is no DeWitt specific count, but since most homes here have gas service, the advice to have a professional inspect before clearing applies to nearly every house.
WEP says the public sewer is fine. What now?
The blockage is in the house drain. A licensed plumber can locate it and clear it so the house can use water again. Photograph where the water came up and how high before cleanup, and check whether your policy carries a backup endorsement.
Send the DeWitt backup details before anyone forces the drain
Which drain, how high, and what WEP said. No obligation.