It is common that a licensed water main and sewer contractor may have to obtain a Department of Transportation permit to open the roadway in an emergency situation. If a homeowner has experienced a water line leak, or lost the ability to utilize their sewer system, an emergency permit may be obtained to start work immediately.
The licensed plumber must complete a standardized form, which is sent to the city to notify them of the work. The city will quickly release the emergency permit number. This number must be present at the location where the work is being performed.
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The plumbers work must start within two hours of the permit being secured and must stay on-site until the work is completed, even if it requires working throughout the night. The plumber cannot start the job, leave overnight and begin working the next morning. In this case the emergency permit would no longer be active; the plumber must obtain a hard copy of the permit to start work again. When working on an emergency permit, there are no stipulations that may be released to avoid the work from being completed as quickly as possible. However, a hard copy of the permit must be applied for within 48 hours of the emergency permit number being released.
Three possible hard copy stipulations that may interfere with an emergency situation include, working under restricted hours, working on weekends or nights, keeping the sidewalk and roadway open for pedestrians and cars to pass. It is common that an emergency job may require the plumber to temporarily close the sidewalk and/or roadway.
Read here for water main and sewer breaks that required an emergency permit.
