Killing roots in sewer pipe

[skid]

Thanks for your input grundy,
The drain guy said that he could see that it was not a broken (or cracked?) pipe but was most likely that the rubber in the joint had gotten brittle over time and allowed a small root in which then grew from the nutrients and water.
He said some times the root can stay small at entry but grow alot in length creating a clump of small root material.
We measured the length of the camera cable to where we observed the roots and it came to about 300mm past our small brick front wall onto the footpath area.
This area of point Chev is not on separate stormwater yet so everything goes through the sewage (for what its worth)
The drain guy seemed to think it was our responsibility but Im not sure why.
Of corse if i get into this in to much detail with council and it ends up back into our court,then it draws attention to the fact that there is something inherently wrong that should be remedied at our expense which could get major as opposed to a once a year foam root killer,down the drain.(and if the neighbor got wind of this he would most definitely push it for all it was worth)
Everyone so far agrees that the tree is a positive influence to the street appeal of the place(its on our section buy is not huge)
Perhaps i should have a word to the council anonymously if thats possible

[skid]

UPDATE on sewage pipe roots--Just called the council and was put onto Water care.
I was told that Water care assumes responsibility for any sewage pipes outside of the property so in this case the fact that the roots were located under the footpath,it was their responsibility and they should be first on site.
Of course the only way we know that, is that we got the drain guy, who went in with the camera and located the roots before clearing.
(now we know if and when it happens next time ,it will most likely happen at that point in the pipe.
This was in PT Chev.(Not sure if it makes any difference which suburb)
So now I will inform the neighbor that his beef will be with water care in the future instead of us--Yea!

[1CarefulOwner]

"NO MORE ROOTS" foaming chemical available in NZ

There is a "NO MORE ROOTS" foaming chemical available in NZ. Have just been investigating for use ourselves but haven't used yet.
Try 0800 003 495 - Just Drain Unblocking.

Ive just had our sewer line block for the 2nd time in a few months.
This time the guy ran a camera and ran the machine down --It was cleared but the source of the problem was roots in a spot under the footpath(not great)
The neighbor is livid and is a very hard to get along with character in the best of times.
So im concerned they will grow back and have heard about a root killer foam from the states but cant seem to find it here.
(from my experience it needs to be something that expands so it comes in contact with roots growing in from the top of the pipe which is normally not touched by normal waste.)
If anyone has found this product or has any other suggestions it would be well appreciated.
Neighbor has a habit of calling the council and putting up with the waste for 3-4days (until they call me)instead of calling me and getting it sorted in a few hours.
Obviously each time this happens the situation gets worse.

So far my options seem to be-

-tear up the foot path and replace pipe(which is a major and pipe is not broken -getting in most likely from joint)

-Put in a good root killer-(perhaps once a year or two)

-get it cleared by machine every year or two

-dig a trench between sewer and trees and sever any roots(this would be maybe a 1-2mtr long trench

Other suggestions?

Ps-the pellets they sell at the normal outlets have the disadvantage of only getting to the bottom half of sewer pipe

Cheers

[skid]

Install a dishwasher, that uses the pipe concerned for it's waste water. The ingredients of dishwasher pellets or powder will not allow roots to flourish in the pipe.

Wow! Ive never heard that before.
There isnt a dishwasher in this place---food for thought--(love it when people think outside the box) Thanx

[skid]

There is a "NO MORE ROOTS" foaming chemical available in NZ. Have just been investigating for use ourselves but haven't used yet.
Try 0800 003 495 - Just Drain Unblocking.

Cheers for that.
It must have just come as I didnt have much luck some months back--Guess the question is now--do I do the treatment regularly if the issue is on council land.

[skid]

Hi Skid
Didn't realise when you said footpath, I assumed your own.
Seeing as I now guess we are talking about root ingress through a failed pipe joint on public land then my experience is it all depends on the mood of the council fellah and which city you are in.
As an aside, on whose land is the tree which is the likely culprit?
Some council departments try it on and say its your responsibility right up to the mainline saddle or junction, others argue about the boundary as being the theoretical line. In any case ripping up council property (ie footpath) has its issues as well. Luckily you can imagine if the junction was in the road even bigger headache.
Had a case whereby some water or gas guys directional drilled pipe up and down the berms and bust every clay sewer pipe nearby. The owners didn't figure the cause for many months later after they all got talking to each other and collectively made council manage the remediation somehow. It can get real messy finger pointing and all, imagine if you get approval and cut the footpath, dig down and discover the collar is broken ie no effective seal at that joint but your camera makes it appear from the inside as a good pipe joint, maybe it an argument then as to who built the branchline or even if the footpath or road construction crew chipped the collar during their work? I still reckon as the pipe is intact its going to be easier to kill the tree, fast or slow doesn't matter. By the way while its on my mind I recommend you avoid relining the pipe if some clever council bloke tries that idea as an option. Ask anyone in Aucklands Devonport about the expensive relining fiasco that occurred there in years past.

Hi Grundy,
The tree is on our property and most agree that it improves the look of the place.
The council has told me that if its under the footpath ,its watercares responsibility (I would assume they would just eliminate the roots with a machine rather than dig the footpath.)--point is,Im not really allowed to go digging the footpath ,even if I wanted to (big can of worms)
Of course,what they say on the phone and what they do when push comes to shove can be very different. (the wildcard is a grumpy neighbor who calls the health inspector before even letting me know--not really the kind of guy you can work with) cheers