Blocked sewer and septic lines – pse.com

What is a cross bore?

If natural gas was installed in your neighborhood without digging trenches, a gas pipeline may have been inadvertently inserted through a sewer or septic line, even for homes without natural gas service. This is called a "cross bore".

Cross bores are safe unless they become damaged by cutting tools that clear blocked sewer and septic lines. Rupturing these pipelines would allow natural gas to enter your home and endanger your safety.

For many years, utilities nationwide have installed gas pipelines by boring underground rather than digging trenches, to avoid tearing up paving and landscaping. Existing underground pipes and wires are marked before work begins, whenever possible.

However, sewer and septic lines may go unnoticed because they're not regularly mapped and are undetectable using above-ground locating devices. Cross bores are a rare side effect that occurs when the machine used to install gas pipelines inadvertently bores through sewers, leaving the gas pipelines vulnerable to damage by cutting tools.

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Blocked sewer and septic lines - pse.com