Communities Continue Bay Area War on Sewer Backup5

Oakland, CA (PRWEB) November 15, 2004

The Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) today proclaimed November “Be Sewer Smart – Backup Prevention Month” in the San Francisco Bay Area and launched year two of its award-winning public service campaign, “Be Sewer Smart.” The campaign features an informative and interactive Website designed to raise homeowners’ awareness of sewer backups and help them avoid backups and other, sewer-related mishaps.

Hundreds of Bay Area homes are damaged annually by sewer backups. Many of these costly events occur during California’s “rainy” season months of November through April. ABAG estimates that it costs local homeowners and their communities as much as $4 million annually to clean up and repair sewer backup damage.

ABAG’s “Be Sewer Smart-- Prevent Sewer Backups” campaign targets area homeowners who may be at risk for sewer backup. It seeks to make them more aware of such events and offers helpful advice on how they can protect themselves from these and other sewer-related problems.

New to this year’s campaign is the Sewer Smart Home Inspection, a simple and quick evaluation of the homeowner’s sewer system by a participating plumbing contractor. The Sewer Smart Home Inspection takes about 15 minutes, is inexpensive, and provides the homeowner with a written assessment of backup risk and suggestions on how to improve it. To schedule an inspection, homeowners can visit http://www.sewersmart.org, take the five-question “Sewer R.A.T.” risk assessment test, and follow the links to participating Sewer Smart plumbing partners in their area.

“The Be Sewer Smart campaign is about forming partnerships and empowering homeowners to reduce the risk of unnecessary backup damage,” said Scott Haggerty, ABAG president and Alameda County Supervisor. “Homeowner interest in ‘Be Sewer Smart’ exceeded our expectations in the campaign’s first year with tens of thousands of visitors to our informative and interactive Website, http://www.sewersmart.org. This is truly good news for homeowners and their communities because the potential savings to both number in the millions of dollars annually.”

“Taking an active and informed role in maintaining their sewer systems can pay big dividends for Bay Area homeowners, especially this time of year. Working together, communities and homeowners can avoid the many rainy season problems that can occur,” said Raul Godinez, Director, City of Oakland Public Works Agency. “The ‘Be Sewer Smart’ Website at http://www.sewersmart.org is a great resource for homeowners to find maintenance tips and suggestions for keeping their sewer systems flowing smoothly.”

The “Be Sewer Smart -- Prevent Sewer Backups” campaign distributes information and risk assessment tools to homeowners -- whose most important investments may unknowingly be at risk of backup -- through the Website http://www.sewersmart.org. A simple five-question online risk assessment test – the Sewer R.A.T. -- helps homeowners determine the likelihood of experiencing a backup in their homes and offers suggestions on how to avoid one.

The program’s Website also offers easy-to-understand information about homeowners’ sewer systems and their responsibilities, as well as simple “Be Sewer Smart” Do and Don’t Tips for maintaining a trouble free system. The sewer backup risk assessment test, along with other useful sewer maintenance tips, is located at http://www.sewersmart.org.

Homeowners without Internet access can call 510-464-7963 for abbreviated Sewer Smart info and can also contact their local sewer district or city public works department for backup prevention assistance and information.

Campaign Background and Sponsors

“Be Sewer Smart -- Prevent Sewer Backups” is a public service campaign of the Association of Bay Area Governments’ Pooled Liability Assurance Network (PLAN) Corporation. The campaign is designed to help homeowners become more aware of and understand their risks and responsibilities related to the potential of sewer backups in their homes. Ultimately, the goal of the campaign is to prevent such backups and the damage and inconvenience they can cause.

ABAG PLAN Corporation is a non-profit corporation whose purpose is to benefit the citizens of each member community by establishing a stable, cost-effective self-insurance, risk sharing and risk management program for each member. The PLAN was formed in 1986 and currently has 31 member cities and towns in the Bay Area. It provides liability and property coverage as well as a variety of risk management services such as training, claims management, loss prevention, and consulting services. For more details, visit http://www.abag.ca.gov/plan.

The Association of Bay Area Governments is one of more than 560 regional councils of government across the nation working to help solve problems in areas such as land use, housing, environmental quality, and economic development. Founded in 1961, ABAG is the regional planning agency for the 101 cities and towns, and nine counties of the Bay Area and is recognized as the first council of governments in California.

Program participants include ABAG’s 101 member communities and the following professional associations: the Builders Exchange of Alameda County, the California Association of Nurseries and Garden Centers, the Peninsula Builders Exchange, the Plumbing Heating and Cooling Contractors of San Francisco, and the Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors of Contra Costa and Alameda Counties.

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