As of late September 2026, I have a rule in my Port St. Lucie house that took me years to learn: before I call anybody about the sewer, I figure out whose pipe it is. The reflex most of us carry, and I carried it down from New Jersey, is that the moment a toilet gurgles or a drain backs up, you call the city, because every pipe between the toilet and the treatment plant must belong to the city.
Here in Florida, in this city at least, the answer depends on where the trouble is, and the city has written it down.
Ask a plumber about the house backup.You describe the backup in your house plumbing, and local plumbers get your request and call to discuss it, keeping your number private.“My toilet keeps backing up and it’s not the city’s line.”→Free for homeowners · Your number stays private
What the Utility Systems Department says
The Utility Systems Department’s guide to the low pressure wastewater disposal system says large portions of the city’s utility service area are served by that system. The same guide answers the ownership question in two sentences: “The Utility Systems Department is responsible for maintaining the system from the rear of the tank to the wastewater treatment plant. House plumbing problems are not the responsibility of the Utility Systems Department.”…