Sewer Camera Inspection in Derwood, MD

Derwood at a glance

Derwood is an unincorporated community just north of Rockville and southeast of Gaithersburg, near the Shady Grove Metro. The median home dates to about 1985, and only around 15% of homes predate 1980. WSSC Water collects the sewage, and most WSSC sewers in Montgomery County are treated at DC Water's Blue Plains plant. For a homeowner, the piece that matters is the building sewer from the foundation to the WSSC main, which is private plumbing.

What to do now

1. Hold off on laundry, dishes and showers if the lowest drain in the house is filling up.
2. Check the street. A manhole overflow or sewage in the road goes to WSSC Water at 301-206-4002.
3. If the trouble is limited to your house, call a plumber about clearing and filming the line.
4. Point out where the cleanout is, if you know, and any yard work done since the house was built.
5. Get the recording and marked locations so you can compare repair options.

Symptoms and likely causes

Cost factors

• How easily the camera can enter the line
• Whether the line must be cleared first
• Distance from the house to the WSSC connection
• Surface locating and a saved recording

If the footage shows a defect worth fixing, a WSSC Water plumbing permit is needed and the work must be done by a plumber registered with WSSC. Because most Derwood lines are plastic, a single settled section or loose joint is a common finding, which often means a targeted repair rather than a whole new line. A follow-up video after the repair gives you a clean baseline for the future.

Lots in neighborhoods like Mill Creek Towne and Needwood Estates often have trees that were saplings when the houses went in and are now full grown. Their roots look for any loose joint, so a line that drained fine for decades can start clogging without warning.