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Who pays for the sewer lateral in Coachella, CA

Which part of the pipe is yours

your buildingproperty linesidewalkstreetmain?
The thick length is yours. A hatched run means nobody has said where it divides.

If something’s wrong

If a repair needs a permit or an inspection

  • Before work on the pipe · Permit

    Who issues it:
    City of Coachella - a written sewer connection permit, and excavation or encroachment permits for work in the street
    What it covers:
    connecting to the City sewer and constructing a house connection sewer from the main to the property

    Coachella Municipal Code section 13.01.251 provides that "no person shall connect to the sewer system without first obtaining a written permit from the city and paying all fees and connection charges". Where a house connection is built, section 13.01.255 provides that "The property owner shall obtain proper excavation/encroachment permits and work is to be completed by a properly licensed contractor."

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 Coachella about the sewer lateral.

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

Who is responsible for which part

Coachella keeps the street length of the house connection itself. Section 13.01.256 provides that the house connection sewer "shall be maintained and repaired by the city's utilities department from the point of connection with the sewer main line to the property line closest to the sewer main".

Coachella
The house connection sewer from the main to the property line nearest the main, maintained and repaired by the utilities department.
The property owner
The building sewer on the lot, from the building to the property line. The code states the City's length and leaves the rest with the owner; section 13.01.253 requires a cleanout "where the building sewer joins the house connection sewer", which is where the two meet.

What else is worth knowing

One exception moves the City's length onto the owner: under section 13.01.256, "it shall be the property owner's responsibility to repair such house connection sewer which is damaged as a result of the negligent or intentional acts of the property owner, its tenants, lessees, subcontractors, agents, or employees" - so a contractor's damage under the street is yours to pay for. And the owner indemnifies the City for claims arising from its maintenance of that length. These sections govern property on the City's sewer; check the name on your sewer bill if you are not sure the City serves you.

Sources

Coachella Municipal Code section 13.01.256, Maintenance of house connection sewer

Also quoted:

Checked

What the rules say

Most relevant if you have a backup or blockage

No rule on file here is specific to a backup or blockage; that does not mean none exists.

Also in force here

  • Before work on the pipePermit
    Who issues it:
    City of Coachella - a written sewer connection permit, and excavation or encroachment permits for work in the street
    What it covers:
    connecting to the City sewer and constructing a house connection sewer from the main to the property

    Coachella Municipal Code section 13.01.251 provides that "no person shall connect to the sewer system without first obtaining a written permit from the city and paying all fees and connection charges". Where a house connection is built, section 13.01.255 provides that "The property owner shall obtain proper excavation/encroachment permits and work is to be completed by a properly licensed contractor."

    What to do: For a blockage or break between the property line and the main, call the City's utilities department first - that length is the City's to repair. For new or replacement work, have a licensed contractor obtain the sewer connection permit and any excavation or encroachment permit before the street is opened.

    Why this matters

    The City maintains the house connection from the main to the property line once it is connected, but building or rebuilding it is the owner's job, at the owner's cost, under permit and by a licensed contractor - and any damage that contractor does to the City's length is the owner's to repair under section 13.01.256.

    In force since · Checked

    Coachella Municipal Code section 13.01.251

    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
Coachella (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

7 of the 8 nearest cities draw the line somewhere else. Each authority publishes only its own rule.

  • Coachella(this page)
    the property line
  • Indioabout 6 mi
    the main (conditions apply; see that page)
  • Palm Springsabout 24 mi
    the main
  • San Jacintoabout 49 mi
    the main
  • Beaumontabout 50 mi
    the main, including the connection fitting on the main
  • Moreno Valleyabout 63 mi
    the main, including the connection fitting on the main (conditions apply; see that page)
  • Riversideabout 74 mi
    the property line (conditions apply; see that page)
  • Coronaabout 82 mi
    the main
  • Norcoabout 82 mi
    the main

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

Compare the rules city by city

Your other pipe: the water service line

The drinking water line coming into your property is a separate pipe, run by a separate authority, and who is responsible for it is decided separately. One of the two authorities does not say where its side ends, so the two answers cannot be compared here.

Who owns the water service line in Coachella

Nearby cities and further reading

Look up a specific address

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

Search for an address