To be eligible for professional cleaning services, the following conditions apply:

• The property owner, his/her authorized representative, or tenant must have reported the possible sewer backup to MSD.
• Upon review by MSD, it appears the property may have experienced a sewer backup caused by an issue within the public sewer.

Note: If the sewer backup was caused by private plumbing issues, overland flooding, or another jurisdictional issue, property owners or tenants will not be eligible for cleaning services from MSD.

If the property is authorized for cleaning, an MSD representative will contact the property owner or tenant by phone to schedule an appointment with a professional cleaning services company.

MSD authorizes properties for cleaning, erring on the side of protecting public health. Further investigation or review as to the actual cause of water into the building may result in a final determination that the incident was not caused by an issue within the MSD public sewer. The review is based on a variety of factors that may include: amount of precipitation, property history, condition of the public or private building sewer lines, neighborhood history, capacity of public sewer lines, visual evidence of overland flooding, and relevant topography.

CLEANUP CONSIDERATIONS

• Professional cleaning services authorized by MSD are limited to cleaning the areas and items located within the building affected by the sewer backup currently being investigated. Damages from previous backups, or from water intrusion through basement walls, ceilings, floors, doors, or windows, or issues within the private building sewer are not covered by the SBU Program.
• MSD's provision of cleaning services is not confirmation that a sewer backup from the public sewer occurred and does not constitute an admission of liability by MSD.
• MSD does not reimburse for self-cleaning costs if the property owner or tenant cleans the property without using a professional cleaning services contractor.
• If a property owner or tenant chooses to hire their own professional cleanup contractor, reimbursement is not guaranteed. Property owners and tenants will be reimbursed for approved reasonable professional cleanup services if the services are properly documented, meet the eligibilty requirements established by the Consent Decree, and are related to the possible sewer backup that may have been caused by an issue within the public sewer operated by MSD. Property owners and tenants will not be reimbursed for cleanup costs if the backup was caused by a private plumbing issue or overland flooding.

For more information, please see the Consent Decree