Sewer Line Issues

What is the name of your state? Arkansas

I recieved a letter on April 9th dated April 7th. It stated that I was in violation of a city ordinance regarding dumping of fecal matter. It stated that my property was in non compliance. It said I had five days to repair or they would repair and place a lein or they would fine me.

When I could not find a leak I called the building official who issued the unsigned letter. He stated it was not on my property but about 650 feet from my house on another property. To get to to this property the line left my property and crossed a city street. He was not sure if it was my line but if I did not fix it he would place a lein. He then stated he did a smoke test and it came back to my house. (There is no evidence of any smoke test on my property)

I consulted an attorney who said to do nothing. There was no proof it was my issue. I do not have any sewer easements in my deed.

They turned off my water on Friday afternoon. I called the attorney back and he responded that the water would be back on. It never came on. I spoke to two members of city council and one stated it would be back on in an hour. It never was turned on and after 2.5 hours at 2230 hours I had a locksmith cut the lock from the water line.

A Public Works employee arrived on Saturday morning. Found the lock off and asked what happened to it. We told him and attempted to give it to him.
He called the Police. A report was taken and Criminal Mischief charges were threatened. The city took my water meter and said if we used the water we would be charged with stealing water.

The head of Public Works stated he did not know if it was my line leaking or my neighbor but our neighbor who does not reside in the home. said to turn off the water so he did.

What are our rights and remedies? Will my homeowners insurance be ofd any use to me? What about title insurance if we do not have an easement to the sewer line?

Thank you

you need to hire a lic sewer and water service and have them check your lines and create a report, then if nothing wrong is found with your lines then you need to consider speaking with a atty , you had no business having the lock removed even if you can prove that your city was in error . at best you could be charged with meter tampering . once you learn there is no problem with the lines at your home and have spoken to a atty dont forget to also make a huge stink with your city council person and the mayor reminding them they are elected people .

Can they turn off my water if they admit they do not know if it is my sewer?
Am I liable for the sewer when it leaves my property if I have no easement?

I bought the house two years ago. It was built about thirty years ago. There are no recorded easements. Will my title insurance help with this? How about homeowners insurance if the sewer line is mine and broken?
Do I have to buy an easement now if I have no easement? Is the house saleable without an easement if that is my sewer?

Plumber said that he could probably make it come out from my house to that broken line but at most it would be a hsared line with the other property. Someone dug up the line and broke the pipe. Its not just a leak. It is dug up and torn up. Its not like there was a leak that just started. Its really odd.


I do have a few issues in town with the Police and elected officials. I should mention that I have documents that they dont want me to have that show the misuse of Federal Dollars and pictures from the local newspapers of folks getting money on behalf of a nonprofit that I run,they never turned over the money and now that I have tried to make them do the right thing all kinds of stuff is happening. Would my homeowners insurance cover this kind of issue? Its actually quite scary.

I tried to get an attorney and they want a few thousand dollars to get started. How do I protect myself?