The response from your insurance company will be "Y2k is a known disaster. We only insure against unknown disasters." Then your only recourse will be to sue your city, but Congress is working (does anybody know what has passed?) on a bill to limit liability due to y2k. Start buying lime, bleach, rubber gloves. And do investigate backflow valves. Speaking of which, I would appreciate any info anyone can give me on backflow valves. I've done some searches on the 'Net but can't really find any info. I is my understanding that once they are in place, you can't flush the toilet. Need info. DuffyO

-- DuffyO (duffyo@bellsouth.net), June 26, 1999

Answers

Michael is a sewer pipeline expert. Paging Michael -- we'll eMail him ...

-- Ashton & Leska in Cascadia (allaha@earthlink.net), June 26, 1999.

Duffyo, I think you are wrong about the insurance company's response. We are (I am anyway) speculating on coverage under a homeowners policy. Sewage backing up into one's home is not a known occurrance. Maybe it will or maybe it won't. Of course it's better for you if it doesn't so research on backflow valves may be a good idea. Who wants to go through the hassle regardless of whether insurance pays for the cleanup or not. I reiterate, the cause of the damage is the sewage. The fact that the backup may have been caused by a computer problem with the city's sewage treatment plant is irrelevant. The insurance company will take care of the policyholder first. Then if they can subrogate against the city for not properly preparing their equipment, fine. Not very likely but that's up the the subrogation department of the insurance company.

Now, if you take a business policy and file a claim for business disruption expense because you have no power due to y2k it's not likely to cover that. You have not suffered direct physical damage to your location that caused the power to go out ie:fire, wind damage, a tree falling on your power wires snatching the meter box off the wall. Y2k is not sudden and accidental under the definitions in the policy. The policy language has not changed. It cannot cover everything that can happen, you would never be able to afford the premiums if it did.

If the y2k induced rolling power black & brownouts were to spark a fire at your business you would have coverage. The policy covers you for fire damage. It does not matter if the cause of the fire can be traced back to y2k problems.

Another example. Homeowners insurance does not cover flood damage or earthquake damage. (Earthquake coverage can be added by endorsement in most states.) If the flood or earthquake were to start a fire in your home, the fire damage would be covered even though the earthquake caused the fire to break out.

mb in NC

-- mb (mdbutler@coastalnet.com), June 26, 1999.

DuffoO--

Think of a back flow device as something akin to an air mattress valve. You blow into the air bag(mattress) and the reason that the air does not escape back out is because of a flap that closes the hole when the air tries to get back out. The pressure of the air against the flap closes it tight.

The same principle applies to BFPD, the liquid flows out from the house to the main sewer trunk just fine, but if any fluid tries to return (during flood, or sewage backup in the main) it cannot get past the flap in the back flow prevention device. The flap closes under pressure from that direction and stops any incursion.

The chances of needing to install one are slim but not impossible. If you are concerned, you should contact your local plumbing inspector, he is a civil servant, and set up an appointment to assess your situation. This is a free visit, but you can contact a local plumbing company and let them do the investigation. This will cost you a sizable sum, which may better spent on further preps.

I am an former plumbing/excavating company owner. One of my many hats {8^}`

Good luck, and e-mail me if you have any further questions.

Respectfully: Michael

Hey- A&L+all- Hope this day finds you healthy and happy. It is another beautiful, cloudy and rainy day here In the Great NW! Just got home from building another food dehydrator to send off to a fellow GI on the far far side of terraboom. Thanks for the show of confidence in my pipeline know how! LOL They call me MR. gadget!! (@^`/

-- Michael (mikeymac@uswest.net), June 26, 1999.

I was in L.A. on business when they pumped poop in the park. It seemed like a good idea to call the City Department of Public Works when I returned home. Emailed them and received a call the next day. Seems they considered turning off the water on New Year's Eve until they realized that the fire hydrants were on the same mains. They now plan to pump every lift station completely empty on New Year's Eve. ( Gee, some people have the greatest jobs )! There will also be a person stationed at every lift station to monitor the levels, if the power goes out. The director said that "We cannot control the power". He said that they would be in trouble sometime between 8 and 14 hours after the power went off. He also said that the local power company informed them that they could physically disconnect from the grid and supply all the power the city needed ( poplation about 1 million ), in from 12 to 16 hours. He also said that they are looking for generators for back up, but have not found any as yet. He said that the good thing was that "we are in government, so we have plenty of money". Direct quote. I sure hope they use it wisely.

-- Ken G. (glubb@sewer.com), June 26, 1999.

Who are they going to find to *man the pumps*, SOS. I'm thinking everyone will be a bit busy already.

-- Michael (mikeymac@uswest.net), June 26, 1999.

I mentioned it in the other thread but failed to put it in my explanation above: backup of sewer and drain coverage needs to be added to your homeowners policy or renters policy. If you don't it won't matter what causes the backup-it probably won't be covered. This may differ in your state but that's the way it is in NC.

mb in NC

-- mb (mdbutler@coastalnet.com), June 27, 1999.