Sewer and Water Line FAQ: Myrtle Beach and Horry County

That depends on which utility bills you. GSWSA’s standards join its lateral to your house sewer at the property line and require a cleanout at that spot, so in GSWSA territory the owner generally maintains the pipe between it and the house. In Murrells Inlet, GCWSD assigns owners the sewer line from the house to the property line. The cities of Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach, Conway and Loris draw their own lines, so ask yours. Each utility’s rules are compared in who is responsible for sewer line repair.

Look at who sends the water and sewer bill. City utilities serve Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach, Conway and Loris; GCWSD serves Murrells Inlet; and GSWSA covers most other parts of Horry County, such as Surfside Beach, Garden City, Carolina Forest, Socastee and Little River. Service is split in a few places, such as southeast of Conway, where the city supplies water and GSWSA the sewer. If nobody charges you for sewer, you may be on septic.

Usually, but confirm with your utility. GCWSD assigns Murrells Inlet owners the line from the house to the meter, and the reach of GSWSA’s maintenance plan suggests a similar split in GSWSA areas. GSWSA’s leak check: with every tap off, watch the meter’s red triangle flow indicator, and if it moves, ask GSWSA whether the leak is on its side or yours. See water line repair in Conway and Myrtle Beach.

Your association or property manager comes first, since shared lines and cleanouts are often common property and the governing documents assign upkeep. GSWSA’s standards say the shared pipe of a two-home connection belongs to the owner of the main it joins, and under its developer policy, buildings whose units share one sewer service line get Sewer Service Line Maintenance at a monthly fee. Rental owners: a no-wipes sign for guests can prevent a common clog.

Stop running water, keep children and pets out, and phone your sewer utility before any plumber, including us. GSWSA’s rule is “Call GSWSA before you call your plumber”: (843) 234-8460, or (843) 443-8200 after hours. It will look at a backup at any hour, free of charge, and repair it if the fault is GSWSA’s. GCWSD’s after-hours number for Murrells Inlet is (843) 546-8408; city customers can find theirs on the bill. Next steps: our sewer backup page.

No. Plenty of backups come from a clog of grease, wipes, roots or sand caught in a low spot, and clearing it may be all the pipe needs. If neighbors on the street are backing up too, suspect the public main or a pump station. Once the line flows, a camera pass shows whether a crack, an offset joint or roots started the clog, which decides between sewer line cleaning and a repair.

Storms push more water into the sewer than it was built to carry. GSWSA notes that wet-weather runoff leaks into the system, and NRCS soil surveys put the water table at 2 feet or less below ground for part of the year across nearly 80% of the county’s mapped land, so groundwater seeps through cracked pipe. Grinder pumps stop in an outage, and GSWSA asks everyone to flush only when necessary in storms. See flood sewer backups during hurricanes.

The recording shows the failure, its location and its depth before a price is set: we push the camera through a cleanout, log roots, offset joints, bellies, cracks and sand, and mark each defect on the ground with the camera’s locator. In most GSWSA areas it also shows which side of the property-line cleanout the problem is on. The video and a written summary from every sewer inspection stay with you.

It renews a sewer line through small pits instead of a long trench. Cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) lining cures a resin-soaked liner into a new pipe within the old one, and pipe bursting splits the old line while pulling new HDPE pipe in behind it. A collapsed section or deep belly usually still has to be dug, since a liner copies the host pipe and a burst line follows its old path. Compare trenchless sewer repair, pipe bursting and sewer pipe lining.

No. A belly is a low, sagging stretch that holds water and catches solids, and pipe that has sunk stays sunk. Hydro jetting can wash out the sand and grease collecting there, but the dip remains, and a liner simply follows it. A mild belly may only need scheduled cleaning; a deep one usually calls for a partial sewer line replacement on firm bedding, and where a trench hits muck or quicksand, GSWSA’s standards demand a gravel or crushed-stone base.

GSWSA sets new laterals between 36 inches and 4 feet deep, measured from finished grade. Older pipe can sit shallower or deeper after years of fill, regrading and settling, so we read the actual depth with our camera’s locator. Depth matters on wet ground: a trench that reaches the water table can flood with groundwater and need pumping, adding time and cost.

Check the outside wall facing the street, near where the main drain exits, for a short capped pipe, usually white plastic on newer houses and cast iron on older ones. On newer GSWSA service lines, look near the property line too, since its standards call for a cleanout there. Replace a missing or cracked cap quickly; floodwater and sand can pour into an open line. More in how to find your sewer cleanout.

Price follows the method, the line’s length and depth, groundwater, what must be excavated and put back, the permit and any utility fees. Angi’s national sewer line cost guide (August 3, 2026 update) prices spot repair of a cracked pipe at $600 to $1,050; full replacement averages $3,319, and most homeowners pay between $1,388 and $5,323. Your written quote reflects your own line. Each factor is explained in our sewer line replacement cost guide.

Rarely, if the pipe failed from age, roots or corrosion. GCWSD’s brochure warns customers that homeowners policies mostly will not pay for repairs to their own lines, and two national insurers say service line failures are typically not covered. Backup damage inside the house is a different matter: the Insurance Information Institute says a typical policy excludes sewer backups unless you add that coverage by endorsement or buy it separately; ask your agent. Our sewer line insurance guide compares the options.

It can be. FloodSmart, the NFIP’s official site, gives two examples: water damage from a sewer that backs up in a heavy rainstorm is covered, but damage from one backed up by clogged pipes is not. Standard homeowners policies generally leave flood out, and FloodSmart notes a 30-day wait before most new flood policies take effect, so buy well before hurricane season.

An optional plan on your GSWSA bill. GSWSA services enrolled customers’ water and sewer lines from its system in the road right-of-way to the building’s outer wall and reimburses damage those lines cause, a sewer backup included, with an independent adjuster GSWSA picks deciding the payout before repairs. Water and sewer coverage costs $2.85 monthly for the first unit; inside plumbing, irrigation and pool or outbuilding lines are excluded. Not on your bill? Call (843) 443-8202 to join.

Replacement does. South Carolina’s 2021 residential code classifies replacing defective concealed drain or sewer piping as new work, which requires a permit and an inspection; fixing a leak or clearing a clog does not. An emergency repair’s permit application is due the next working business day. Horry County Code Enforcement handles unincorporated areas, cities such as North Myrtle Beach and Loris have their own permit offices, and Georgetown County covers Murrells Inlet. We handle the permit and inspection.

No. SC811’s homeowner guidance is that utilities mark only lines they install and maintain, so private lines, including the sewer lateral and water service on your lot, go unmarked, and utilities get three full working days to answer a request. Before any dig, we request SC811 marks for public utilities, then locate your private line with our camera. Digging a fence, pool or garden bed yourself? Call 811 first.

Stop using water and wait a few minutes: E/One, a grinder pump maker, says an alarm that shuts off and stays off means the pump should be fine. If it keeps sounding, call whoever maintains the pump; ownership varies, so check with your utility or HOA. A typical GSWSA home unit holds roughly 70 gallons and cannot pump in a power outage, GSWSA says. Never open the tank or panel. See our grinder pump alarm guide or grinder pump repair.

Often, if a sewer main can reach your property. In unincorporated Horry County, start with GSWSA, whose rural sewer program pitches sewer as an alternative to septic. South Carolina’s septic regulation, R.61-56, bars repairing or replacing a failing system where a sewer connection is accessible. GSWSA’s published per-unit fees are $2,735 for sewer impact, $1,020 for the sewer tap and $80 for the connection inspection, and some areas add more. See septic line repair and sewer connections.

First we ask what you are seeing and which utility bills you, confirm the utility has looked at any backup, and put active backups at the front of the schedule. Then come a camera inspection, a written, itemized quote, permits and SC811 locates, and the repair itself by licensed plumbers carrying liability insurance. South Carolina requires a state license for plumbing jobs over $500, though owner-occupants are exempt for their own homes. How it works walks through each step.

Ask when you call, and we will explain how your visit is priced. Whatever the timing, you see the price on a written, itemized quote before any work starts, and nothing begins until you approve it. If sewage is backing up at night, call your utility first; GSWSA checks backups at any hour without charge.