Foundation Drain Removal Program

In the spring of 2008, the Norwalk City Council approved and adopted the Foundation Drain Removal Ordinance (Ch. 167). This ordinance was established to help mitigate the damaging effects the Spring 2008 flood events had on the City’s public sanitary sewer infrastructure. The ordinance requires homeowners follow a two-step process.

  1. Schedule and conduct a preliminary inspection with the city; and,
  2. If necessary, complete any corrections found during the preliminary inspection (typically the removal of an illegal connection)

All necessary corrections will need to occur within one year of the activation date of the district in which the home is located.

District Activation Date Deadline
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4 March 31, 2014 March 31, 2015
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To assist property owners, the City provides financial assistance of up to $750 for any sewer system customer completing the disconnection of an illegal connection from the sanitary sewer system under the provisions of the ordinance. The financial assistance requires staff approval prior to the start of any work; therefore it will be very important for you to schedule the preliminary inspection at your earliest convenience.

The purpose of the drain inspections is to insure that home perimeter drains and sump pumps do not discharge ground and/or rain water into the sanitary sewer system. These connections are considered illegal by Norwalk code but some older Norwalk homes were built with these connections. Norwalk pays, through sewer fees, for all water discharged into the sanitary sewer system, by eliminating illegal connections and reducing the ground/rain water from the sanitary sewer system, the city is able to save money. In addition, during periods of heavy rains, inundated sanitary sewer lines can cause basement backups. Removing the ground/rain water can reduce backups.

If you have any questions pertaining to the ordinance or district map, please call us at 515.981.9530 or EMAIL us.

District 4 Map