ABAG’s “Be Sewer Smart” Backup Prevention Campaign Gets Smarter with Added Website Planting Guide Resource

The Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) today announced the addition of a “Sewer Smart Planting Guide” page to its award-winning public service campaign Website, “Be Sewer Smart.” The new Webpage, at www.sewersmart.org/plantguide.html, offers information for homeowners to help them avoid causing expensive and inconvenient sewer backups when making additions to their home landscaping.High on the list of causes of the hundreds of sewer backups and overflows that damage Bay Area homes annually are blockages and other damage caused by roots in sewer lines. Presented in partnership with the California Association of Nurseries and Garden Centers (CANGC), the City of Oakland’s Public Works Agency and other ABAG member communities, the “Sewer Smart Planting Guide” is designed to help Bay Area homeowners make Sewer Smart planting decisions.ABAG estimates that it costs local homeowners and their communities as much as $20 million annually to undo the damage caused by such backups. Most of these backups occur during the northern California rainy season, which coincides with the fall and winter planting seasons. Each backup prevented can save from tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars in cleanup costs in a single home – a good reason to be “Sewer Smart” when it comes to planting. “The what, where and when of tree planting are important considerations for homeowners this time of year.

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