Was Murray Hill built with sewer connections under the streets? Circa 1929....

[MusicMan]

Looking for information about a house on Wolfe Street built in 1929. We believe the home (and all others in the immediate area) were built
with sewer connections . Never had septic tanks.  Can anyone point me in the direction of confirming this?  The home has an old clay pipe connection to the street (everything else has been replaced), and looks exactly like the clay pipe my friend on Herschel has at his home, circa 1918. I'm pretty confident sewer was part on the development.  But looking to confirm it. Calling JEA has been pretty useless....


I did find this:   

https://www.jacksonville.com/entertainment/2016-09-10/story/jacksonvilles-murray-hill-neighborhood-celebrating-its-centennial

[acme54321]

If there is a clay pipe connection it was almost certainly built that way.

[aubureck]

What are they connected with now?  Do they currently have septic?

[MusicMan]

Sewer. I'm not aware of much of MH with septic.  We believe it's had sewer since 1929. When it was built

[jaxlongtimer]

You can't count on this to answer your question as there are thousands of septic tanks in these "sewer districts" but at least the possibility exist based on this JEA map  .

[jaxoNOLE]

MM, if you're seeking this info regarding a potential purchase, the surefire answer would be paying someone to scope the drain lines. It's pricey--probably about what you would pay a home inspector--but relatively cheap insurance against a surprise sewer break that costs tens of thousands to fix (personal experience).

[MusicMan]

Thank you, the whole house has new drains out to the driveway, which connects to a clay pipe that runs to the main pipe under the street.

Our issue is the appraiser flagged  a divot in the back yard and claimed it was a collapsed septic tank. We believe the original construction from 1929 connected to the sewer lines under the street AT THAT TIME. In other words, there never was a septic system. And I really don't think my customer should have to pay for a septic inspection when there never was a septic tank at the house.

[jaxlongtimer]

Hard to believe JEA can't definitively address this issue once and for all.  Surely, they know what addresses they currently service and if they have any "liens" on an address for connection fees, etc.  I would get their answer in writing to be sure though.  If customer service can't answer, I would ask for someone in operations, engineering or higher management.  "Not knowing" is unacceptable. 

Having a 3rd party inspection, to me, isn't as good as having an "official" written answer from JEA.  And... it doesn't cost you to get it  .

[Charles Hunter]

Hard to believe JEA can't definitively address this issue once and for all.  Surely, they know what addresses they currently service and if they have any "liens" on an address for connection fees, etc.  I would get their answer in writing to be sure though.  If customer service can't answer, I would ask for someone in operations, engineering or higher management.  "Not knowing" is unacceptable. 

Having a 3rd party inspection, to me, isn't as good as having an "official" written answer from JEA.  And... it doesn't cost you to get it  .

Unless they consider it a "Sunshine Document Request" and charge MM for the copying costs and staff time to research - at an engineer's rate, and not the administrative assistant or intern that actually did the research and copying.

[jaxlongtimer]

Hard to believe JEA can't definitively address this issue once and for all.  Surely, they know what addresses they currently service and if they have any "liens" on an address for connection fees, etc.  I would get their answer in writing to be sure though.  If customer service can't answer, I would ask for someone in operations, engineering or higher management.  "Not knowing" is unacceptable. 

Having a 3rd party inspection, to me, isn't as good as having an "official" written answer from JEA.  And... it doesn't cost you to get it  .

Unless they consider it a "Sunshine Document Request" and charge MM for the copying costs and staff time to research - at an engineer's rate, and not the administrative assistant or intern that actually did the research and copying.

This info is related to administering their ordinary and everyday business operations vis a vis this customer/address  If the customer engages service at this address, they have to have the info to properly service and bill them anyway.  No way it is a Sunshine request.  I deal with JEA on many levels all the time and have never had an issue securing documentation or support (billing, engineering, permitting, real estate easements or otherwise) for any operational issue.  This just comes down to connecting with the proper person which is not likely the customer service person in a call center.

[Charles Hunter]

jaxlongtimer, thanks for correcting my (not obviously enough) sarcastic comment. But, why should it take trying to track down some anonymous person within JEA, and customer service either not able to provide the information, or know enough to connect with someone who can? This is not a problem confined to JEA. When I worked at a different public agency, people who knew me would call me rather than our customer service / public information office.

[MusicMan]

I appreciate the input. I have been surprised how difficult it has been to get ANY info about this particular house and the history of sewers in Murray Hill.  There is some interesting info here:

https://murrayhilljax.com/#about 

And I will keep trying.....

[jaxlongtimer]

jaxlongtimer, thanks for correcting my (not obviously enough) sarcastic comment. But, why should it take trying to track down some anonymous person within JEA, and customer service either not able to provide the information, or know enough to connect with someone who can? This is not a problem confined to JEA. When I worked at a different public agency, people who knew me would call me rather than our customer service / public information office.

Jokes on me I guess.  You had me fooled  .

I appreciate the input. I have been surprised how difficult it has been to get ANY info about this particular house and the history of sewers in Murray Hill.  There is some interesting info here:

https://murrayhilljax.com/#about 

And I will keep trying.....

I suggest one of two options:  If you get menu options when calling, pick one other than customer service (such as billing, commercial accounts or even to report a line down if all else fails) just to do an end run on them.  Whoever you get, tell them who you need to reach to solve your issue and let them know customer service is not an option given your prior experience with them.  Option Two is to demand to talk with a supervisor in customer service and insist on a referral - don't hang up until you get that.  If all that fails, look for a way to get another number at JEA other than the main one.  I would even attempt to stop a JEA truck and ask an employee to give you an alternate number.  Whatever works!

[acme54321]

If the house has clay pipe to the street it was almost without questions built on sewer from the start unless there is something really weird that makes you think otherwise.  Clay pipe was phased out in favor of Orangeburg after WW2.

My house was built on sewer with clay to the street in 1938.  Our detached garage has a separate drainfield system (not full septic) that was installed for the laundry out there.