A closing was two days from lapsing into foreclosure when the listing agent called an inspection company late at night, asking if anyone could get a camera down a sewer lateral before morning. CDA Inspection Services sent a crew out the next day, ran the scope, then drove the video and paperwork straight to the township office themselves so the report would be on file before settlement. The sale closed on time, but only because someone caught, at the last possible hour, that this particular pipe inspection wasn't optional.
That inspection has nothing to do with a buyer's due diligence period, and it isn't something either side can waive to save a few days. In Macungie Borough, Lower Macungie Township, and Upper Macungie Township, a sewer lateral inspection is a condition each local government attaches directly to the transfer of the deed. All three governments wrote their own version of the rule, and none of them are identical.
A Permit, Not a Preference
Here's what's actually happening underground. A licensed plumber threads a video camera down the private sewer lateral, the buried pipe that carries wastewater from the house to the municipal main. The camera isn't just hunting for a clog. It's checking whether stormwater or groundwater is sneaking into the sanitary line through cracked joints, root intrusion, or improper connections, a problem local sewer authorities call inflow and infiltration, or I&I.
Lower Macungie Township's ordinance spells out that the video inspection has to determine whether the pipes and their connections allow stormwater or groundwater into the sewer system, not just whether the pipe is intact. Townships care about this because excess I&I overloads treatment plants and can trigger sanitary sewer overflows. A property sale is one of the few moments a township is guaranteed to have official eyes on a house, which is exactly why the inspection got attached there.
Same Zip Code, Three Rulebooks
If you're picturing one set of rules covering every address with a Macungie mailing address, that's the wrong mental model. Macungie Borough, Lower Macungie Township, and Upper Macungie Township each run their own program.
| Jurisdiction | Who orders it | What gets filed | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Macungie Borough | Seller, through a licensed plumber | A completed Sewer Lateral Inspection Form available from the Borough | Before the property changes hands |
| Lower Macungie Township | Seller, through a licensed Journeyman or Master Plumber | Full inspection report plus a physical video copy, filed with the Township office | Passing results stay valid up to two years; repairs are the owner's responsibility before closing |
| Upper Macungie Township | Seller, through a plumber registered with UMT | Certified inspection report and video, submitted to both the Township and the buyer | Due at or before settlement, ideally two weeks ahead |
Lower Macungie's program won't even accept the video electronically. The physical copy goes into the property file and stays there for five years, on a USB drive if you've got one.
This isn't only a Macungie-area habit either. Emmaus Borough runs its own sewer lateral inspection requirement, and as of January 21, 2026, South Whitehall Township adopted an almost identical rule as part of a corrective action plan for its own aging sewer system. The stated goal is to "identify defects, illegal connections, and sources of groundwater or stormwater entry" before they become a bigger problem for the whole system. The pattern is spreading across the valley faster than most homeowners are hearing about it.
What Actually Fails Down There
Failing this inspection doesn't always mean a dramatic dig-up. Sometimes it means something as ordinary as grease. One CDA Inspection Services review describes a Lower Macungie Township lateral that looked fine on a first pass, until the video showed grease buildup along the pipe walls. The homeowner had it hydro jetted, the plumber ran a second video, and the township signed off on the resubmission. No excavation, just a cleaning and a second trip through the paperwork.
Other failures are more expensive. Root intrusion, joint separation, and a "bellied" section of pipe that has settled lower than the rest are the kinds of defects that show up on these scopes across the region. When a lateral actually needs to be replaced rather than cleaned, industry sources note that repair is typically a five-figure job, and it's not something a standard homeowner policy covers. The camera doesn't know which outcome you're going to get until it's already down the pipe.
Why This Catches Longtime Owners Off Guard
These ordinances don't share a birthday. Upper Macungie's dates to 2007. Lower Macungie's current version took effect in 2020. South Whitehall's just started in January of this year. Anyone who bought a Macungie-area home before their specific township adopted its rule has simply never had a reason to think about their lateral, because the requirement only exists the moment they try to sell.
That's usually how it surfaces too: not from the seller's own research, but from a title company or a buyer's agent flagging it partway through a transaction that's already moving. Building the scope into a listing timeline, rather than discovering it during an inspection contingency window, is the difference between a routine appointment and the kind of late-night phone call that opened this post.
Before you list, it's worth confirming:
- Which of the three governments actually has jurisdiction over your address, since Borough limits, Lower Macungie Township, and Upper Macungie Township all use Macungie mailing addresses without sharing a boundary line
- Whether you already have a passing inspection on file if you're in Lower Macungie Township, since a result from within the last two years may still count
- Which plumbers are already registered or accepted by your specific township, since not every licensed plumber has filed the paperwork every township requires
- Where the line runs under your yard or driveway, so you're not caught off guard if the camera finds a break somewhere that needs to be reopened
FAQ
Does this apply if my home is on a septic system instead of public sewer? No. This video inspection is a public sewer program. Homes on private septic systems fall under a separate set of rules. Upper Macungie Township, for instance, runs its own staged septic pumping and inspection schedule for on-lot systems, and the current cycle has District 2 owners scheduled to have their systems cleaned and inspected before the end of 2026. That obligation runs on its own timeline, separate from the sewer lateral video.
What if the inspection finds a problem but I don't want to replace the whole line before selling? Townships generally give owners a chance to address what's actually wrong rather than mandating a full replacement outright. Lower Macungie's ordinance allows for a spot repair or a full reline depending on what the camera shows, with a follow-up video confirming the fix before the file closes out.
Can my agent or the buyer schedule this instead of me? The responsibility sits with the seller in every version of this rule, since it's tied to the seller's transfer of the property. A buyer's agent can certainly flag that it's needed, but the appointment, the plumber, and the paperwork are the seller's to manage.
If you're weighing a Macungie-area listing this fall, this is exactly the kind of local detail worth sorting out before your closing date forces the conversation. Lori Bartkus has walked sellers through every version of this rule across Macungie Borough, Lower Macungie Township, and Upper Macungie Township. Let's Connect before you list, not after your buyer's title company asks the question first.
