Who pays for the sewer lateral in Benicia, CA
Which part of the pipe is yours
Yours from your property line to your building — if certain conditions are met
Why, and what to do
Who is responsible for which part
Benicia takes on the street length of the lateral, but only when three conditions hold. Section 13.60.050 provides that "The owner shall maintain the building sewer and all other sewage facilities located on his property", and that "The city shall maintain lateral sewers if all of the following conditions are met" - the lateral built to City requirements and approved for maintenance, an accessible approved cleanout near the property boundary, and room to work without damaging private property.
- Benicia
- The lateral sewer - the length within the street or easement between the property line and the main - where the three conditions in section 13.60.050 are met. Section 13.44.140 defines it as "the portion of a sewer lying within a public street or easement connecting a building sewer to the main sewer".
- The property owner
- The building sewer, from the building to the property line, and everything else on the lot. Section 13.44.050 defines the building sewer as running from the building's drainage outlet "to the property line or to a private sewer disposal system".
- What decides which applies
- The City's half depends on three things, and all three must hold. Section 13.60.050 requires that "There is an approved cleanout located within five feet of the property boundary and the cleanout is accessible", that the lateral was built to City requirements and approved for maintenance, and that "Normal maintenance work can be conducted without moving or damaging private property." Where they do not, "the owner of the property served by the lateral sewer shall maintain it" - so an older lateral with no cleanout at the boundary is the owner's all the way to the main. Whatever the case, "In no event is the city responsible for damage or inconvenience resulting from stoppage or other malfunction of a side sewer." Look for a cleanout near your front property line before deciding whose a blockage is.
What is required
Benicia Municipal Code section 13.60.010 provides that "No person may construct a building sewer or lateral sewer or make a connection with a public sewer without first obtaining a written permit from the city and paying all fees and connection charges."
What to do: Before replacing any part of your sewer line, apply to the City for the written permit, and ask Public Works what it needs for the lateral to be approved for City maintenance - including where the cleanout must go - so the new line is built to qualify.
Benicia Municipal Code section 13.60.010, Permit requiredWhy this matters
Replacing a building sewer or lateral is constructing one, so the permit applies to replacement as well as new work - and it matters for who maintains the line afterwards. The City takes on the street length only where the lateral "is constructed in accordance with city requirements and is approved by the city for maintenance" and has an accessible cleanout within five feet of the property boundary (section 13.60.050). A replacement built under permit, to the City's standard, with that cleanout, can move the street length onto the City.
Who governs and serves this area
- Jurisdiction
- Benicia (municipality)
- Sewer service
What BelowGrid cannot say yet
- No assistance or grant programme has been reviewed for this jurisdiction yet.
How this compares to neighbouring cities
All 4 of the nearest cities draw the line somewhere else. No single authority publishes that comparison, because each knows only about itself.
Look up a specific address
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