Trees: The Gift Down Below

Not only do trees kill but they slowly wreak havoc on our infrastructure as well:

The devastation tree roots can have on sewer pipes is another problem.

“The older sewer connections were put together with cement, and the tree roots penetrate the connections. It happens frequently,” said John Figliolia, president of the New York Association of Water and Sewer Excavators. “You’re talking thousands and thousands of dollars.”

“No way would I want a tree planted in front of my property,” said Steven Kogel of Harris Watermain and Sewer Contractors in East New York, Brooklyn. “As a master plumber, I know what a tree can do to the sewer and the sidewalk. It’s a mess.”

And when there’s a tree in front of a house and the sewer pipes have to be changed, the contractor must take out a Parks Department permit and hire an arborist who will oversee the excavation and installation of the sewer, said Kogel. “The job, which would take two days, takes twice as long.”

The city is responsible for any trip-and-fall cases involving tree roots in front of a three-family home or smaller. The city Law Department said it had to pay out $39 million in judgments and settlements last year for cases involving sidewalk defects.