Who pays for the sewer lateral in Bakersfield, CA
Which part of the pipe is yours
Yours all the way to the main under the road
Why, and what to do
If something’s wrong
Who to call first about the sewer lateral
City of Bakersfield sewer maintenance staff 661-326-3111
Hours, after-hours and sourcesIf a repair needs a permit or an inspection
- Who issues it:
- City of Bakersfield, the city engineer approving and the city issuing the sewer permit
- What it covers:
- any person desiring to connect to a sewer of the city, with direct attachment of a sewer six inches or smaller permitted only after the permit is obtained and the fees paid
Bakersfield requires a sewer permit and the city engineer's approval before anything is attached to a city sewer: "any person desiring to connect to a sewer of the city shall obtain a sewer permit", and "a sewer permit will not be issued unless the applicant has first obtained approval from the city engineer". For an ordinary house connection the code is explicit about the sequence - "direct attachment of a sewer six inches or smaller in diameter to a city sewer will be made only after the connection permit and wastewater discharge permit, if required, are obtained and all required fees are paid by the applicant". Separately, section 14.12.195 offers an alternative to hiring anyone: at a property owner's request "the city will repair that portion of the house connection sewer between the improved city right-of-way and the public sewer for a fee to be determined on a time and materials basis".
Buying or selling?
No rule on file here is specific to selling or buying; that does not mean none exists.
Planning work?
The remodelling rule in full, with its sourcesWho is responsible for which part
Who to call first
City of Bakersfield sewer maintenance staff
After hours: 661-327-7111
What happens: sewer stoppages are cleared on the City main line only; the lateral is the owner's
The house connection sewer is the owner's all the way to the public sewer - but Bakersfield will do the hard half for you if you ask. Section 14.12.195 commits the City to repairing "that portion of the house connection sewer between the improved city right-of-way and the public sewer for a fee to be determined on a time and materials basis". The City will do the work; the cost is yours, and it is not published.
- The property owner
- The house connection sewer, the whole of it. Section 14.12.195 states that "all property owners shall maintain the house connection sewer from all points on their property to the public sewer", and that "it is the responsibility of all property owners to repair any blockage of or damage to the house connection sewer". The code defines a house connection as "the sewer connecting the building sewer or building waste drainage system to the public sewer for the purpose of conveying domestic wastewater".
What else is worth knowing
Sources
Bakersfield Municipal Code, Title 14 chapter 14.12, SewersWhat the rules say
Most relevant if you are repairing or replacing the pipe
- Who issues it:
- City of Bakersfield, the city engineer approving and the city issuing the sewer permit
- What it covers:
- any person desiring to connect to a sewer of the city, with direct attachment of a sewer six inches or smaller permitted only after the permit is obtained and the fees paid
Bakersfield requires a sewer permit and the city engineer's approval before anything is attached to a city sewer: "any person desiring to connect to a sewer of the city shall obtain a sewer permit", and "a sewer permit will not be issued unless the applicant has first obtained approval from the city engineer". For an ordinary house connection the code is explicit about the sequence - "direct attachment of a sewer six inches or smaller in diameter to a city sewer will be made only after the connection permit and wastewater discharge permit, if required, are obtained and all required fees are paid by the applicant". Separately, section 14.12.195 offers an alternative to hiring anyone: at a property owner's request "the city will repair that portion of the house connection sewer between the improved city right-of-way and the public sewer for a fee to be determined on a time and materials basis".
What to do: Decide first who is doing the work. If you want the City to repair the run between the improved right-of-way and the main, ask Public Works for an estimate of the time and materials before you agree, and get a contractor's figure for the same length so you have something to compare it with. If you are hiring a contractor, get the city engineer's approval before the permit application and expect to pay the fees before anything is attached to the city sewer - the code makes payment a precondition of attachment, not a bill afterwards. Use the words "house connection sewer" rather than "lateral" when you ring: in this code a lateral is the City's pipe.
Bakersfield Municipal Code, Title 14 chapter 14.12, SewersWhy this matters
In Bakersfield the house connection sewer is yours all the way to the public sewer, so an ordinary repair usually means opening the City's road - and that is the engineer's approval and a permit before anything is attached. But you have a second option: you can require the City to do that stretch itself. The catch is that its price is "a fee to be determined on a time and materials basis", which is an open invoice rather than a quotation, so the one comparison you most want to make - City against contractor - cannot be made from published figures. One vocabulary warning, because it will cause confusion at a counter: this code defines "lateral sewer" as the PUBLIC main. The pipe you own is called a house connection sewer here.
What this page cannot tell you
- No assistance or grant programme has been reviewed for this jurisdiction yet.
- No sewer service territory has been mapped for this area, so BelowGrid cannot say who serves an individual address.
Who governs and serves this area
- Jurisdiction
- Bakersfield (municipality)
- Sewer service
- No map of sewer providers is held here. BelowGrid cannot say which sewer provider serves an individual address.
How this compares to neighbouring cities
2 of the 6 nearest cities draw the line somewhere else. Each authority publishes only its own rule.
Nearby cities and further reading
Look up a specific address
This page describes what applies to properties in Bakersfield in general. To see which authorities serve one address, and what records exist for it, search for it.
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