Ontario One Call, Enbridge Gas, Technical Standards and Safety Authority, Kitchener Utilities, and Utilities Kingston announce Sept. 18 to 22, 2023 as Sewer Safety Week, the first joint initiative of its kind to raise awareness about sewer safety inspections.

If a blockage is within your home, you or a licensed plumber can safely remove it. But, if the blockage is outside the walls of your home, stop and consider the risk of a sewer cross bore.

Some underground natural gas pipes may have been unintentionally installed through sewer pipes – a situation known as a cross bore. Although this is rare, the pipes can co-exist safely and go undetected until the sewer pipe is blocked and needs to be cleared.

Mechanical plumbing tools could easily damage natural gas pipes and lead to a dangerous natural gas leak.

Call before you clear

If you have a blocked sewer, outside the walls of your home:

•        Contact Ontario One Call at 1-800-400-2255 before clearing the blockage.
•        Ontario One Call will notify the gas companies, which will perform a free sewer safety inspection.
•        If there are no cross bores, you or your plumber can continue to clear the blockage. If there is a potential cross bore the utility will fix the issue.

 For more information, visit our page Call Before You Dig and the Ontario One Call website Call Before You Clear.