Beach town sewer lines take a lot of wear. Sandy soil, salt air working from above, decades of service below, and in the older cottages near the pier, lines that predate most of the neighborhood. When backups start in Imperial Beach, so does the guessing. Roots and a collapsed section are two very different jobs, and so is a line that turns out to be fine. Nobody standing in the yard can tell which.
A camera can show you. A sewer inspection runs a small camera from the cleanout, the capped pipe outside that opens into your sewer line, out toward the street, with live video for as much of the line as it can reach, and what it finds shows up on screen where everyone can see it. The roots, the grease and sludge, the buildup, the low spot holding water, the crack, or an all clear. Watch it live if you like. No repair conversation happens until you've seen what's down there.
It's most useful at the big moments, before a major repair gets a yes, before you buy an older beach cottage with its original line, and before you accept that the tub backing up every few months is just part of coastal living. Watching the footage usually answers the question, and what happens next is decided by you, with the facts in hand.
