Who pays for the sewer lateral in Alhambra, CA

Who is responsible for which part

Alhambra writes its own sewer code and puts the whole house connection sewer on the owner. Section 16.12.110 provides that "All house connection sewers and appurtenances thereto, now existing or hereafter constructed after September 18, 1951, shall be maintained by the owner of the property served in a safe and sanitary condition". Section 16.04.110 defines the house connection sewer as the horizontal piping "beginning 24 inches from the exterior wall of the building or structure and extending to its connection with the public sewer".

The property owner

The house connection sewer, from two feet outside the building to the public sewer. Section 16.04.180 closes the argument that the street length might be public: the public sewer "means the main sewer or trunk sewer, constructed in a street, highway, alley, place or right of way dedicated to public use", and "The term PUBLIC SEWER does not include a house connection sewer".

What else is worth knowing

Nothing conditions who owns the pipe. One section reads like a split and is not: section 16.12.050 sets replacement standards separately for the part of an existing house connection sewer "between the street curb and lot line" and the part "between the curb and public sewer". That divides how the pipe must be rebuilt, not who pays - the owner keeps both lengths under section 16.12.110. The short stretch within two feet of the building wall is building drain, governed by the plumbing code.

Checked 2026-09-22

What is required

• When you askPermit

  Alhambra Municipal Code section 13.20.030 makes it "unlawful for any person to make, cause or permit to be made, an excavation or fill in, over or under the surface of any public street for any purpose, without first obtaining from the Director of Public Works a written permit". The house connection sewer is the owner's all the way to the public sewer in the street, so a repair under the road needs one.

  What to do: Apply to the Director of Public Works for the excavation permit before any work in the street, and ask how long the guarantee period is for your trench - the permittee answers for settlement and faulty workmanship during it, so agree in writing whether that is you or your contractor. If an emergency forces the dig out of hours, the eight-hour clock starts when City offices next open.

  Why this matters▸▾

  The obligation does not end when the trench is filled. Section 13.20.080 provides that if repairs become necessary during the guarantee period "because of faulty materials or workmanship on the part of the permittee or his agent", the permittee must remedy them, and if the pavement is not restored in time the Director may do the work, with "The cost thereof, including any inspection costs and administrative overhead incurred by city" assessed against the permittee. Emergencies are allowed but narrow: section 13.20.180 requires the party making an emergency excavation to "apply for the regular permit therefor within eight hours after the offices of the city are first opened".

  In force since 2001-02-12 · Checked 2026-09-22

  Alhambra Municipal Code section 13.20.030, Permit required

  Also quoted:

  • Alhambra Municipal Code section 13.20.080, Repairs
  • Alhambra Municipal Code section 13.20.180, Emergency excavations

Who governs and serves this area

Jurisdiction

Alhambra (municipality)

Sewer service

Not mapped. No sewer service territory covering this area has been added, so BelowGrid cannot say who serves an individual address here.