As an atmospheric river rips through San Francisco, bringing rain and toppling a big rig on the Bay Bridge, plumbers are working overtime to save residents from overflowing sewage drains — and cashing in as a result.
“It’s always a big day during the first big rain,” said Roberto Velazquez, a plumber for eight years at Discount Plumbing Rooter Inc. “We always look forward to it,” he chuckled.
Plumbers thank the city’s notorious combined sewer system, which uses the same set of pipes for stormwater and sewage. The result? An overflowing cocktail of rainwater and sewage at the point of least resistance, whether it be a street-level drain or your shower.
When it’s pouring, plumbers are awash in cash.
Kevin Kavanaugh, co-owner of Malcolm Plumbing & Mechanical, said his daily revenue of around $9,000 jumps to $15,000 on a rainy day.
“A lot of those jobs are shifted from regular ones to emergency calls,” said Cavanaugh, who employs six plumbers. “It definitely makes your phone ring.”
Ace Plumbing & Rooter CEO Jonathan Millington said his company, which has 25 plumbers, typically handles 50 jobs a day, and that number quadruples when it rains.
“The phone doesn’t stop. We can’t get to all the calls,” Millington said.
Plumbers said some of the worst drainage issues are in low-lying areas like the Mission, particularly along Folsom Street between 14th and 20th, but higher-elevation areas such as Ingleside Heights and West Portal can be affected.
“What happens is the rain fills the entire sewer line, so the water has nowhere to go,” Kavanaugh said. “Low-lying areas get it the worst.”
Millington said sewage spewing from a home is often caused by its pipe that channels both roof runoff and sewage into the city’s combined system. “It’s just one pipe. It’s meant for a few flushes; it’s not meant for a roof full of rainwater,” Millington said.
Velazquez said he remembers a particularly bad sewage flood last December at an apartment building at Eighth and Howard streets. Footage of the incident, shared on his company’s Instagram page, shows a bubbling pool of brown-beige filth in the building’s garbage room.
Kavanaugh said if you want to avoid a costly call to a plumber during this rainy season, put on your drain-cleaning gloves. Rain gutters and any interior or exterior drains should be cleaned out to avoid a stinky (and expensive) issue.
If you don’t want to get your hands dirty (or don’t have a clue where to start), plumbers can help with prevention, too.
Much of Kavanaugh’s business comes from homeowners wanting pre- and post-rain pipe cleaning. This is done with drain snakes and a tool called a “jetter,” which uses water pressure to blast away debris that cause clogs. The price of this service depends on the time of day: It starts at $250 an hour, rising to $375 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. and $500 after 6 p.m.
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, which supplies drinking water and treats local wastewater, said property owners can access subsidized flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program, and eligible properties can receive up to $100,000 through the Floodwater Management Grant Program for resilience projects. Residents can pick up 10 free sandbags from San Francisco Public Works.
To help residents assess their risk, the city maintains an updated map showing potential flood elevations during major storms. For real-time emergency alerts, residents can sign up for AlertSF by texting their ZIP Code to 888-777.