Who pays for the sewer lateral in Downey, CA
Which part of the pipe is yours
Yours all the way to the main under the road
Why, and what to doYours from the meter to your building
Why, and what to do
If something’s wrong
If a repair needs a permit or an inspection
- Who issues it:
- City of Downey, through the City Engineer
- What it covers:
- constructing, using or altering a public sewer, main line sewer or house lateral
Downey Municipal Code section 7220 provides that "no person shall commence, or do or cause to be done, or construct or cause to be constructed, or use or cause to be used, or alter or cause to be altered any public sewer, or main line sewer, or house lateral or sewage pumping plant, or other similar appurtenance, in the City without first obtaining a sewer permit from the City Engineer to do so". The verbs reach a repair and not only a new connection - altering a house lateral is named - and the house lateral is the run under the street that the same chapter puts on the owner.
Who to call first about the sewer lateral
Downey: official site(opens in a new tab)The documents this answer is built on
Who is responsible for which part
Downey is unusually direct about this, and says both halves in one place. Section 7240 of the Downey Municipal Code provides that "the Director of Public Works has the responsibility for the maintenance of the City's public sewer facilities, including main line sewers, pumping stations, manholes, and terminal cleanouts", and that "the Los Angeles County Sanitation District No. 2 has the responsibility of maintaining all trunk sewers in the City which are under the District's jurisdiction". Section 7240.2 then takes the other side: "all house laterals, industrial connection sewers, and appurtenances thereto, now existing or hereafter constructed, shall be maintained in a safe and sanitary condition by the owner of the property served". Section 7214.14 defines the house lateral as "that part of the sewer piping within the street or right-of-way which extends from the property or sewer right-of-way line to a connection with the main line sewer", so the length the City puts on the owner is the length under the road.
- The property owner
- Every house lateral, including its run under the street. Section 7240.2 puts house laterals "now existing or hereafter constructed" on "the owner of the property served", and requires the devices and safeguards the chapter calls for to be "maintained in good working order". Section 7214.14 places that lateral in the street or right-of-way, from the property line to the connection with the main line sewer, so the owner's run ends where the City's main begins.
What else is worth knowing
Sources
Downey Municipal Code, Article VII Streets and Public Works, chapter 2 Sanitary Sewers and Industrial WasteWhat 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
- Who issues it:
- City of Downey, through the City Engineer
- What it covers:
- constructing, using or altering a public sewer, main line sewer or house lateral
Downey Municipal Code section 7220 provides that "no person shall commence, or do or cause to be done, or construct or cause to be constructed, or use or cause to be used, or alter or cause to be altered any public sewer, or main line sewer, or house lateral or sewage pumping plant, or other similar appurtenance, in the City without first obtaining a sewer permit from the City Engineer to do so". The verbs reach a repair and not only a new connection - altering a house lateral is named - and the house lateral is the run under the street that the same chapter puts on the owner.
What to do: Ask the City Engineer whether a tap into the main is needed at your address and what the tapping fee is, because that is a separate application from the lateral permit and it comes first. Check nothing is outstanding on the property from earlier sewer work before applying. When the job is finished, ask for the certificate of final inspection under section 7210.2 - it is issued on request rather than automatically, and it is the document that records the work was accepted.
Downey Municipal Code, Article VII Streets and Public Works, chapter 2 Sanitary Sewers and Industrial WasteWhy this matters
One condition on issue has nothing to do with the pipe: section 7220 adds that "no permit shall be issued pursuant to this chapter if there are moneys due and owing to the City from the applicant and required to be paid pursuant to this chapter", so an unpaid earlier charge stops the work before it starts. The connection into the main is not the contractor's to make. Section 7220.6 provides that "all tapping of public sewers, except trunk sewers, shall be performed by the Department of Public Works", with the single exception that tapping shown on sewer plans the City Engineer has approved "may be constructed by a licensed contractor" - and where no connection facility exists at the point needed, a separate application and tapping fee come first, before the permit for the lateral itself is issued. The work is inspected: section 7210 subjects everything done under the chapter to the City Engineer's approval, and section 7210.2 has him issue a certificate of final inspection when the work meets the chapter and all fees are paid - but only "if requested", so it is worth asking for one rather than expecting it.
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
- Downey (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 8 nearest cities draw the line somewhere else. Each authority publishes only its own rule.
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 DowneyNearby cities and further reading
Look up a specific address
This page describes what applies to properties in Downey in general. To see which authorities serve one address, and what records exist for it, search for it.
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