How to Read a Sewer Inspection Report

A sewer inspection report records what a camera saw inside your lateral: the pipe material, every joint and defect, and how far each one is from where the camera went in. To read one, match each finding’s footage to the video, note its clock position and type, and check whether the line was filmed all the way to the main.

The report is the evidence behind any recommendation, so it is worth being able to read it yourself. This Angeleno Sewer Line Repair guide explains how to read any company’s report from a sewer camera inspection: the counter, clock positions, common defects in plain language, the grades the City of Los Angeles uses, how to confirm the footage is of your line, and the red flags that should make you ask for more.

Start with the header

Before the defects, check the basics. A useful report states:

• The address and date, ideally shown on the video itself.
• The access point: which cleanout, and where on the property. “Front cleanout near driveway” or “through roof vent” changes what the camera could see.
• The direction: downstream toward the street is normal for a lateral.
• Pipe material and diameter, and where they change. A transition from 4-inch cast iron to 6-inch clay outside the foundation is common, and the fitting there is a frequent weak point.
• Total distance filmed, and whether the camera reached the main. If it stopped short, the report should say why.
• Whether the line was cleaned first, because that changes what is visible.

The footage counter

The number on screen, usually in feet, is the distance of cable fed from the access point. Every finding is reported against it. A root mass “at 34.5 ft” means 34.5 feet of cable from the cleanout, along the pipe.

Two cautions. First, that is distance along the pipe, not a straight line across the yard; a bend or a deep drop adds cable. Second, cable can bunch in a large pipe or at a fitting, so counter readings get a little less precise the farther out the camera goes. That is why a good inspection adds locating: a transmitter in the camera head is found from the surface at key defects, and the spot is marked with its depth. A finding with both a counter reading and a surface mark is one a repair crew can dig to without guessing.

You can use the counter yourself. If the report says the property line is around 45 feet and a defect is at 52 feet, the defect is past the property line, which in the City of Los Angeles means street-side work with its own permit and contractor requirements. See the street sewer lateral repair page.

Clock positions

Inspectors describe where a defect sits around the pipe using a clock face, looking downstream. 12 o’clock is the top of the pipe (the crown), 6 o’clock is the bottom (the invert, where water runs), and 3 and 9 are the sides.

Position matters. Roots entering at 12 o’clock from a joint are a sign of an open joint at the top. A crack at 6 o’clock sits where sewage flows constantly, so it leaks and erodes. A long crack running from 12 to 6 is more serious than a short one at 2 o’clock. An offset described as “dropped at 6 o’clock” means the next section sits lower, which creates a lip that catches solids.

Common defects in plain language

NASSCO, the trenchless industry association, maintains the Pipeline Assessment Certification Program (PACP) and a lateral version (LACP), which give inspectors standardized codes and grades. The code tables are part of NASSCO’s training and certification materials, and residential reports often use plain words instead. Here is what the usual findings mean:

PACP grades each defect from 1 (minor) to 5 (most significant) and reports structural defects separately from operation and maintenance ones, such as roots and grease. NASSCO itself cautions that condition grades reflect only what is seen inside the pipe and should not be the sole basis for a renewal decision. A grade is a starting point for judgment, not a verdict.

The City of Los Angeles grades

When a lateral is filmed for street-side work under a Bureau of Engineering S-Permit, City inspectors grade the footage on a four-step scale: Excellent, Fair, Poor and Very Poor.

• Very Poor covers major cracks, offsets, collapse or a compromised connection to the main. Repair is required, under a supplemental S-Permit.
• Poor makes repair recommended, not required, except for cement pipe, where it is required.
• Fair and Excellent do not trigger repair.

These grades apply to City-required inspections, which are explained in the permit guide, such as before reconnecting a capped lateral, lining or bursting in the right-of-way. A private inspection report will not use them unless the inspector chose to, but it helps to know how the City would look at the same footage, especially before a rebuild or reconnection.

Confirming it is your line

It is a reasonable question, and it has a straightforward answer:

1. Address on screen. LA Sanitation’s rebates require the video to show the property address at the beginning. Ask for it on any inspection.
2. A cleanout you recognize. The first seconds of video should show the camera going into an access point you can find on your property.
3. Continuous footage. The counter should run without unexplained jumps from the start of the video to the end.
4. Surface marks. If key defects were located, the paint or flags should be in your yard, parkway or in front of your property, at plausible depths.
5. The connection at the main. If the camera reached the main, the end of the video shows the lateral opening into a larger pipe. That is the end of your line.

If a lateral’s connection to the City system is genuinely in doubt, for example on an older property with no permit history, the Bureau of Engineering can arrange a dye test, performed by LA Sanitation, which confirms whether a lateral connects to the City main. It confirms the connection only; it does not legalize an unpermitted one.

Red flags

• No video, only a verdict. “Your line is shot” is not a finding. Symptoms alone do not prove a cause either; see signs of a broken sewer line.
• No counter on the footage, or distances in the report that do not match the video.
• The camera stopped short and the report recommends replacing the whole line anyway.
• Murky water throughout. If the camera could not see the pipe wall, the report should say so, and a cleaning and re-film may be needed before any decision.
• A belly called from one moment of water. A brief pool after a fixture drains is normal; a sag is water that stays over a measurable stretch. The belly repair page covers real sags.
• A lining recommendation for a section that holds water, or for a section with missing pipe or a collapse, without explaining how that section will be handled.
• Every defect labeled urgent. A real report distinguishes light roots at a sound joint from a fracture.

Using the report

Watch the video with the report open, and write down each finding’s distance and type. Then ask the person recommending the repair to show you the defects that drive their recommendation, by counter reading. That one step makes most bad advice visible. For deciding what to do with the findings, see repair vs replacement and pipe bursting vs lining. For what an inspection typically costs and the City’s rebate toward it, see the camera inspection cost guide. And if you are buying a house, the home buyer sewer inspection page covers how to use a report in escrow.