Plumbing in Peoria County, IL

Bluff Streets, Combined Sewers and Older Pipe in Peoria County

Peoria County holds 181,830 people on 631 square miles, and most of them live in the older city of Peoria and the villages around it. Peoria sits at 712 feet on the bluffs above the Illinois River. Historic districts such as West Bluff, North Side and Randolph-Roanoke mean a lot of century-old houses with the pipes that came with them.

Under those streets, Peoria began using combined sewers in 1931. A combined sewer carries stormwater and household sewage in one pipe, so heavy rain loads it fast. Local news reports overflows on 28 or more days a year, and a 2020 federal consent decree gives the city 18 years to cut them. That does not make your own backup the city's fault, but it does mean a basement drain can be both a public and a private problem.

Groundwater is the other half. The city's sump pump sheet says a pump must never tie into a pipe connected to the sanitary sewer, calls that connection illegal, and wants discharge pipes draining on private property. Beyond the city, drainage runs to Kickapoo Creek, Elbow Creek, Copperas Creek and the Spoon River, and rural lots trade the combined sewer for a private system.

Call GPSD First on a Sewer Backup? Here Is How It Works

On a sewer emergency inside Peoria, the City tells residents to call the Greater Peoria Sanitary District first. GPSD maintains the public sewers, and it checks the public line at no cost to the resident. If the public main is clear, the stoppage is in your building sewer, which is the owner's to maintain, including the stretch under the sidewalk and street.

That is the moment to call us. We clear the line from the cleanout, camera it, and tell you whether the pipe or the street is at fault. Peoria also lists cost-sharing for gate-check valves and basement replumbing. Those figures come with conditions, so confirm eligibility with the city or GPSD before you buy.

Plumbing Services for Peoria County Homes

Peoria County Towns and the Drive From Washington

Peoria is our closest large neighbor, and from there the county runs out along the river and the bluffs. Distances are estimates from 309 Wilshire Dr.

Interstate 74 and Interstate 474 are the main roads across the county. Outside the sewered towns, the Peoria City/County Health Department on North Sheridan Road handles private sewage permits at 309-679-6161. Illinois puts plumbing license numbers in a public database, searchable on the IDPH lookup.