Local plumbers’ misunderstanding of a program to correct infiltration and influx problems in sewage lines throughout the county is at the heart of a dispute over how to fix a major sewage backflow problem for an East Ridge homeowner this past weekend, according to the head of the agency overseeing that program.

“The (property owner’s) plumber wanted us to guarantee that nothing would happen to the tree” that had grown into the sewer line, blocking it, said Cleveland Grimes, executive director of the Hamilton County Water and Wastewater Treatment Authority.

“He wanted to relocate the line (around the tree) and have us pay for it,” Mr. Grimes said. “We just cannot do that . . . This money only addresses infiltration and influx. I cannot use it to relocate a line.”

The dispute is the latest fracas in an ongoing negotiating process between WWTA and local plumbers, who feel that the infiltration and influx program is depriving them of work and income. Plumbers were scheduled to meet Monday morning to discuss their grievances, in preparation for WWTA’s regular monthly meeting on Wednesday.

Saturday, in a public relations coup, plumbers unhappy with WWTA donated their services to the East Ridge homeowner and put in a new 70-foot sewage line for her. Companies participating included Waterworks, Keefe Plumbing, Best Plumbing, Shipley Plumbing and P&S.

Good for them, WWTA’s executive director said.

“I didn’t know they were going to do the work pro bono,” he said. “If they did that a lot more often, I wouldn’t have to spend so much fixing (infiltration and influx) problems.”

He said WWTA employees were summoned to the scene by the plumber who usually handles sewage backups for the property owner.

“Our first priority is to get the line open,” he said.

Since the line was filled with effluent, he said, it was not possible to run a camera into it and see what was causing the blockage. Consequently, after consulting with the plumber, WWTA employees used a jet pump to spray into the line and try to break a hole in whatever was stopping it up, he said.

“We didn’t know then that it was a tree causing the problem,” he said. “We didn’t know the blockage was too large to break a hole in it.”

Consequently, he said, sewage backed up into an area the property owner had once used as a beauty shop.

“Was she inconvenienced?” he asked. “Absolutely . . . but this isn’t the first time we’ve had something like this happen, and it won’t be the last. That’s why we have insurance to cover it.”

He said the insurance company began work immediately on getting the area cleaned up.

However, he said, WWTA employees and the plumber were unable to agree on what to do next about the stopped up line.

“The plumber wanted to relocate the line and, when we couldn’t do that, he left,” Mr. Grimes said. “There was no point in staying after that so (WWTA employees) left, too.”

He said he expects the incident will be fully discussed during the WWTA meeting Wednesday.