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Who pays for the sewer lateral in Chowchilla, CA

Which part of the pipe is yours

  • Sewer lateral

    Yours all the way to the main, including the fitting where it joins

    Why, and what to do
your buildingproperty linesidewalkstreetmain
The thick length is yours.

If something’s wrong

If a repair needs a permit or an inspection

  • Before work on the pipe · Permit

    Who issues it:
    City of Chowchilla - the city administrator or the administrator's designee
    What it covers:
    any connection with a public sewer of the City, which the City itself has the exclusive right to make, along with laying laterals from the public sewer

    Chowchilla Municipal Code section 13.12.030 provides that "No connection shall be made with any public sewer of the city until a permit therefor has been obtained from the city administrator or the administrator's designee."

The repair rule in full, with its sources

Buying or selling?

No rule on file here is specific to selling or buying; that does not mean none exists.

Who to call first about the sewer lateral

BelowGrid has no first-call guidance on file from Chowchilla about the sewer lateral.

Chowchilla: official site(opens in a new tab)The documents this answer is built on

Who is responsible for which part

In Chowchilla the house branch sewer, including its connection to the City's main, is not the City's to maintain or repair. Section 13.12.065(E) of the City's code provides that "House branch sewer, including their connection to sewer mains, shall not be considered as city property or become a part of the city sewer system, and their maintenance and repair shall not be provided by the city."

The property owner
The house branch sewer from the building to the City's main, and its connection to the main. The code does not name the owner in terms; it places the whole line, connection included, outside the City's property and system, and says the City will not maintain or repair it.

What else is worth knowing

Nothing splits the line between the City and the owner for upkeep, and the connection at the main falls on the owner's side. Building it is another matter: the City keeps the exclusive right to make connections with its public sewer and to lay laterals from it, so the connection to the main is the City's to make even though maintaining it afterwards is not.

Sources

Chowchilla Municipal Code section 13.12.065(E)

Also quoted:

Checked

What the rules say

Most relevant if you are selling or buying

No rule on file here is specific to selling or buying; that does not mean none exists.

Also in force here

  • Before work on the pipePermit
    Who issues it:
    City of Chowchilla - the city administrator or the administrator's designee
    What it covers:
    any connection with a public sewer of the City, which the City itself has the exclusive right to make, along with laying laterals from the public sewer

    Chowchilla Municipal Code section 13.12.030 provides that "No connection shall be made with any public sewer of the city until a permit therefor has been obtained from the city administrator or the administrator's designee."

    What to do: Before a building is connected to the City's sewer, or a lateral reconnected at the main, apply to the City for the permit and ask Public Works to schedule the connection, which the City makes itself.

    Why this matters

    The City also reserves the connection itself: section 13.12.020(A) provides that "The city shall have the exclusive right to make connections with the public sewer of the city and for laying laterals therefrom." Connections and laterals are built to the City's standard specifications, and the applicant tests them as the City requires to show that infiltration stays within the City's limit. The house branch and its connection are the owner's to maintain afterwards.

    Current wording dates from · Checked

    Chowchilla Municipal Code section 13.12.030, Connection

    Also quoted:

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
Chowchilla (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

1 of the 2 nearest cities draws the line somewhere else. Each authority publishes only its own rule.

  • Chowchilla(this page)
    the main, including the connection fitting on the main
  • Maderaabout 13 mi
    the main
  • Mercedabout 19 mi
    the main, including the connection fitting on the main

Distances are approximate, in a straight line between the places’ centres.

Compare the rules city by city

Nearby cities and further reading

Look up a specific address

This page describes what applies to properties in Chowchilla in general. To see which authorities serve one address, and what records exist for it, search for it.

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