Sewer Line Repair in Surfside Beach, SC
Sewer line repair in Surfside Beach, SC: GSWSA lines, older beach homes, check valves and town permits. Camera inspection first.
- Camera inspection first
- Written, itemized quotes
- Licensed and insured
Photo: BullDawg2021, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Myrtle Beach Sewer Line Repair finds and fixes sewer and water line problems in Surfside Beach, SC. The town’s water and sewer come from the Grand Strand Water and Sewer Authority (GSWSA), and on GSWSA’s system the pipe between the property-line cleanout and your house is generally the owner’s responsibility. We put a camera in that pipe first, show you the video and quote the repair in writing.
Call (843) 429-6659 to schedule a sewer camera inspection at a Surfside Beach home or rental.
Call nowWho fixes a Surfside Beach sewer line, GSWSA or the owner?
In most cases GSWSA looks after its main and the lateral out to your property line, and the owner looks after the pipe from there to the house. GSWSA’s sewer standards end the house sewer at a point on the property line, with a cleanout there, and its backup page says a problem can be in either line.
Our camera measures each defect’s distance from that cleanout, so you know whose side a break is on before anyone digs. GSWSA treats the town’s sewage at its Schwartz plant in Burgess, whose permit allows 19.35 million gallons a day.
Older beach homes, older pipe
Surfside Beach homes are older than those in Garden City, Socastee or Murrells Inlet. Half the town’s homes were built in 1985 or earlier, 35.4% went up before 1980 and only 5.5% in 2010 or later (Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024).
Building sewers from before 1980 are often cast iron or vitrified clay, and Orangeburg fiber pipe was common from the 1940s into the early 1970s. Roots often work into clay joints, cast iron scales and cracks, and Orangeburg tends to flatten. Newer homes usually have PVC.
Of the town’s housing units, 37.8% are seasonal or occasional-use homes, and a slow leak can run for weeks in an empty house. We can inspect between bookings and send you the video.
What we fix in Surfside Beach
- Roots, cracks or a broken joint: sewer line cleaning for roots and sewer line repair in Surfside Beach by spot repair, lining or a small dig.
- Pipe beyond repair: sewer line replacement in Surfside Beach in Schedule 40 PVC without rubber couplings, as GSWSA requires on the owner’s side.
- A leak between meter and house: water line repair in Surfside Beach. GSWSA will tell you if the leak is on its side, and a repair receipt may get you a bill adjustment (843-443-8202).
- Sewage in a tub or shower: sewer backup help in Surfside Beach once GSWSA has checked its main.
- Buying, or just unsure: sewer camera inspection in Surfside Beach with video, locate marks and a written summary.
Storms, floodwater and backups
The town’s 2023 comprehensive plan lists nine notable storms, from Hazel in 1954 to Ian in 2022, and notes that Matthew destroyed the old fishing pier in 2016. On its flooding page, the town advises check valves in sewer traps to keep floodwater from backing up into your drains; we can fit one during a repair (see our backwater valve guide).
When sewage comes up a drain, GSWSA’s rule is “Call GSWSA before you call your plumber.” Its line is (843) 234-8460, or (843) 443-8200 after hours, and it checks its side at no charge, day or night.
Permits for sewer work in Surfside Beach
Inside town limits, permits come from the Town of Surfside Beach (843-913-6341). Its application covers plumbing repair and replacement and asks for the job’s value and the installer’s license numbers. South Carolina’s residential code makes replacing a concealed drain or water pipe new work with a permit and inspection; clearing a stoppage or stopping a leak is exempt. We handle the permit and inspection.
After you call: four steps
- If sewage is backing up, call GSWSA first. We schedule active backups ahead of other work.
- We push the camera in at a cleanout and paint the line’s route on the ground. SC811 only marks lines that utilities own, so the camera’s locator traces your private pipe.
- Your written quote is itemized: method, length, depth, permit, locates, lawn or driveway repair, any added cleanout and disposal.
- Licensed plumbers covered by liability insurance do the work, then we run the camera through the finished line.
Other areas we serve
Nearby places we also cover:
Surfside Beach sewer line FAQ
Does the Town of Surfside Beach run my water and sewer?
No. The town’s FAQ answers the water bill question with the Grand Strand Water and Sewer Authority, and trash charges appear on the same GSWSA bill.
My mailing address says Surfside Beach. Am I inside town limits?
Not necessarily, the town says. Its limits run from 17th Avenue North south to Melody Lane, and from the ocean west to Sandy Lane and Azalea Lane. Unincorporated addresses generally get permits from Horry County Code Enforcement.
GSWSA smoke-tested my street and smoke came out of my yard. Who pays?
Call GSWSA’s smoke testing line, 843-234-8473, before paying anyone. GSWSA says it generally fixes everything the test finds, the customer’s service lateral included, and warns that where smoke can enter a home, sewer gas can too.
Is a backwater valve required on my Surfside Beach home?
Only where a fixture’s flood-level rim sits below the manhole cover of the next upstream public sewer manhole, under South Carolina’s residential code. We check elevations before recommending one.
Can a Surfside Beach homeowner do the sewer work themselves?
South Carolina exempts owner-occupants working on their own homes; anyone else needs a state license for plumbing work over $500. Replacing buried pipe still needs a permit and inspection.
Sewer or water line trouble?
Call for Surfside Beach sewer and water line repair, replacement and inspection.
Camera inspection first, written and itemized quotes, and trenchless options where they fit.
Sewer and water line repair for Myrtle Beach, Conway and Horry County. Camera inspection first, written and itemized quotes, licensed plumbers.
Call (843) 429-6659