Skip to main content
BelowGrid

Who pays for the sewer lateral in Colma, CA

Which part of the pipe is yours

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:
    Town of Colma, the Building Inspector
    What it covers:
    constructing a side sewer, which must meet the requirements of the sanitation agency owning the main it joins

    Colma Municipal Code section 3.04.080(a) provides that "Before commencement of construction of a side sewer, the owner shall obtain a permit from the Building Inspector and shall pay the fees in connection therewith."

The repair rule in full, with its sources

No rule on file here is specific to selling, buying, remodelling or adding a unit; that does not mean none exists.

Who to call first about the sewer lateral

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

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

Who is responsible for which part

In Colma the side sewer - the whole lateral, from the building to the main sewer - is the owner's to maintain. The Town's code provides that "Side sewers shall be maintained by the owner of the property served thereby."

The property owner
The side sewer, which for the area on the North San Mateo County Sanitation District's system the code defines as "the sewer line beginning at the foundation wall of any building and terminating at the main sewer and includes the building sewer and lateral sewer together."

What else is worth knowing

Nothing splits the side sewer; the main is the dividing point. Side sewers are designed and built to the requirements of the sanitation agency that owns the main they join. Where a side sewer serves units with common walls, condominiums, stock cooperatives, community apartments or similar developments, the duty to maintain it falls on the homeowners' association or other entity responsible for the property owned in common. The code gives the Town no part of a side sewer.

Sources

Colma Municipal Code chapter 3.04, section 3.04.080

Also quoted:

Checked

What is required

  • Before work on the pipePermit
    Who issues it:
    Town of Colma, the Building Inspector
    What it covers:
    constructing a side sewer, which must meet the requirements of the sanitation agency owning the main it joins

    Colma Municipal Code section 3.04.080(a) provides that "Before commencement of construction of a side sewer, the owner shall obtain a permit from the Building Inspector and shall pay the fees in connection therewith."

    What to do: Before a side sewer is built, get a permit from Colma's Building Inspector and pay its fees.

    Why this matters

    The side sewer must also meet the requirements of the sanitation agency that owns the main it connects to.

    Current wording dates from · Checked

    Colma Municipal Code section 3.04.080(a)

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
Colma (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

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

  • Colma(this page)
    the main
  • Daly Cityabout 1 mi
    the main
  • Pacificaabout 5 mi
    the main, including the connection fitting on the main
  • South San Franciscoabout 6 mi
    the cleanout (conditions apply; see that page)
  • San Brunoabout 4 mi
    the main, including the connection fitting on the main
  • Millbraeabout 6 mi
    the cleanout (conditions apply; see that page)
  • Burlingameabout 8 mi
    the main (conditions apply; see that page)
  • Hillsboroughabout 10 mi
    the main, including the connection fitting on the main
  • San Mateoabout 11 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

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. Your sewer lateral is yours to the main; your water line stops being yours at the meter.

Who owns the water service line in Colma

Nearby cities and further reading

Look up a specific address

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

Search for an address