Mt. Lebanon, like many communities in the region, requires a dye test before a house can be sold. The test involves putting some powdered dye in a drain or downspout and flushing it through the pipe to see where the water flows. If the dyed water finds its way into the sanitary sewer system, the problem must be corrected, because excessive stormwater can overload the sanitary sewer system and result in
sewer backups.
Sanitary sewers should only carry wastewater from inside the house, such as water from showers, dish and clothes washers, toilets and floor drains. Storm sewers carry water from outside the house — downspouts, roof and driveway drains. When many houses were being constructed, it was not uncommon for builders to connect downspouts to the sewer systems. Often, the current homeowner is unaware of the situation.
Mt. Lebanon first started taking action against improper hookups in the 1980s. A plan to build new homes in the Rocklynn Woods area required county and state approval of the proposed sewer taps to ensure they would not adversely affect the sewer flow into the Saw Mill Run watershed.
In 1987, the municipality began its first round of dye testing, in Mission Hills, Central Square, parts of Sunset Hills, Main Entrance Drive, Roycroft Avenue and Hoodridge Drive. By 1996, about 9,000 homes had been tested, with about 20 percent found to be in violation. By the early 2000s, every house in Mt. Lebanon had been dye tested.
In 2004, in response to a federal mandate, Mt. Lebanon passed an ordinance requiring point-of-sale dye testing, requiring any blocked drains to be unblocked and included in the testing.
An approved dye test is good for three years. You do not need a dye test if you are just refinancing. Your successfully completed dye test form must be submitted to the Mt. Lebanon Public Works Department at least 10 business days before your house closing date.
If your property fails the dye test, the plumber is required to notify the Mt. Lebanon Inspection Office of the reasons why the failure happened. The inspectors need to approve any corrective measures.
If bad weather interferes with the testing, or if your property fails the test, you can request a temporary relief from compliance, but you need to submit the request at least 14 business days before your closing date. This involves posting some escrow money to ensure that the test will be done, and to cover the cost of any improvements that may be required.
It’s the home buyer’s responsibility to ensure all the work needed to bring the home into compliance with the ordinance is done. Consequently, a failed dye test could result in a much lower offer.
Once the public works department receives and approves the evidence of compliance form, the department notifies the finance office, which then includes it in a packet with the requested municipal claims and tax certification letters. Any violations, open permits and dye testing requirements must be resolved before the municipal claims letter and/or tax certification letter will be released.
Dye testing: the basics
The test must be conducted by a plumber who is registered and licensed in Allegheny County.
Testing must include, but is not limited to:
- Each downspout
- Driveway and area drains
- Flooding negative-slope driveways (driveways where the gravitational flow of water moves toward the house and not the street) with fresh-air vents at the base of the driveway. Surface water should be captured by an area drain and not the vent.
- Each roof drain on flat roofs where the rain leader is enclosed within the structure.
- Interior French drains or sumps