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Who pays for the sewer lateral in Delano, 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:
    City of Delano engineer or inspector - a written permit for any connection with, opening into or alteration of the public sewer
    What it covers:
    work that uncovers, connects with, opens into, alters or disturbs the public sewer, and any tap on a main line sewer

    Delano Municipal Code section 13.28.010 bars anyone from making "any connection with or opening into, use, alter or disturb any public sewer or appurtenance thereof without first obtaining a written permit from engineer or inspector". Section 13.28.050 provides that "No person except a qualified contractor, or a person authorized by the city, shall tap a main line sewer."

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 Delano about the sewer lateral.

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

Who is responsible for which part

Delano keeps the public sewer and nothing that runs off it. Section 13.28.040 provides that "The city does not assume any obligation or expense for maintaining any building sewers from the public sewer to the premises served", and that "All service and expense of operation and maintenance of the public sewer shall be borne by the city."

The property owner
The building sewer from the premises to the public sewer - the whole run, including the length under the street. The City can make you repair it: section 13.28.150 provides that where an existing building sewer is found in an insanitary condition it shall be ordered "repaired, modified or replaced", and that "It shall be the obligation of the owner of the premises served to comply with such order at the owner's expense."

What else is worth knowing

Nothing conditions the split. The code states it as the City declining the duty rather than handing it to you in so many words, but read with section 13.28.150 the effect is the same: the City keeps the main, and every length of the building sewer is the owner's to keep in repair. Work at the main itself is restricted - under section 13.28.050, "No person except a qualified contractor, or a person authorized by the city, shall tap a main line sewer." These sections govern property on the City's sewer; not every address inside the city limits is, so check the name on your sewer bill first.

Sources

Delano Municipal Code section 13.28.040, Obligation for building sewer

Also quoted:

Checked

What the rules say

Most relevant if you are remodelling or adding a unit

  • Before work on the pipePermit
    Who issues it:
    City of Delano engineer or inspector - a written permit for any connection with, opening into or alteration of the public sewer
    What it covers:
    work that uncovers, connects with, opens into, alters or disturbs the public sewer, and any tap on a main line sewer

    Delano Municipal Code section 13.28.010 bars anyone from making "any connection with or opening into, use, alter or disturb any public sewer or appurtenance thereof without first obtaining a written permit from engineer or inspector". Section 13.28.050 provides that "No person except a qualified contractor, or a person authorized by the city, shall tap a main line sewer."

    What to do: Before a repair that reaches the connection with the main, have a qualified contractor apply to the City engineer or inspector for the written permit, and build the inspection into the schedule. Section 13.28.110 exempts permits for removing a stoppage from the sewer impact fee, so clearing a blockage does not bring that fee with it.

    Why this matters

    The owner's building sewer runs all the way to the public sewer, so a repair near the street end, or a replacement that has to reconnect, is work on the City's sewer as well as on your own pipe. That needs the written permit first, and only a qualified contractor may make a tap on the main.

    Current wording dates from · Checked

    Delano Municipal Code section 13.28.010, Permit required

    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
Delano (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.

  • Delano(this page)
    the main
  • Wascoabout 13 mi
    the main, including the connection fitting on the main
  • Bakersfieldabout 31 mi
    the main
  • Taftabout 45 mi
    the main
  • Arvinabout 46 mi
    the main, including the connection fitting on the main
  • Tehachapiabout 63 mi
    the main
  • California Cityabout 89 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. Your sewer lateral is yours to the main; your water line stops being yours at the property line.

Who owns the water service line in Delano

Nearby cities and further reading

Look up a specific address

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

Search for an address