Skip to main content
BelowGrid

Who pays for the sewer lateral in Foster City, 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
  • Water service line

    Yours from the meter to your building — if certain conditions are met

    Why, and what to do
your buildingproperty linesidewalkstreetmain
The thick length is yours. A dashed marker means the position depends on your property — see below.

If something’s wrong

If a repair needs a permit or an inspection

  • Before work on the pipe · Permit · Estero Municipal Improvement District

    Who issues it:
    Estero Municipal Improvement District (Foster City)
    What it covers:
    uncovering, repairing, connecting to or altering any public sewer, and any work on any lateral, building sewer or side sewer

    Estero Municipal Improvement District Code section 8.40.010 provides that "No unauthorized person shall uncover, repair, make any connection with or opening into, use, alter or disturb any public sewer or appurtenances or perform any work on any lateral, building sewer, or side sewer without first obtaining a written permit from the district."

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 Estero Municipal Improvement District about the sewer lateral.

Estero Municipal Improvement District: official site(opens in a new tab)The documents this answer is built on

Who is responsible for which part

In Foster City the sewer lateral, including its connection to the main sewer, is the property owner's to maintain. The Estero Municipal Improvement District, whose sewer lines the City of Foster City's Public Works Department operates and maintains, provides in section 8.32.100 of its code that "Except as herein provided, building sewers, side sewers, and sewer lateral(s) which serve private property shall be maintained by the owner of the property served."

The property owner
The building sewer, side sewer and sewer lateral serving the property, from the building to the main sewer and including the connection to it. Section 8.08.190 defines the sewer lateral as "the portion of a sewer lying within a private property, homeowners’ association, public right-of-way or easement connecting a building sewer(s) to the main sewer, including the connection to the main sewer." Section 8.32.100 has each owner keep these pipes "free of displaced joints, open joints, root intrusions, grease or sediment deposits" at their own expense, and maintain them to prevent the entry of groundwater.

What else is worth knowing

Nothing splits the lateral between the District and the owner: it runs to the main sewer, through any public right-of-way or easement on the way, and the connection is part of it. Where laterals join at or near the public right-of-way, section 8.32.100 leaves maintenance and repair with the private owners who use the lateral. The section opens "Except as herein provided" without saying which provisions it means. Two elsewhere in the same title could qualify it: section 8.12.070 provides that "All facilities installed by the district on private property for the purpose of rendering water and/or sewer service shall remain the property of the district" and that the District may maintain, repair or replace them; and sections 8.04.090 and 8.04.100 let the District's board suspend or modify a provision for a particular property, by resolution, for special circumstances. If you believe the District installed any part of your lateral, ask the City's Public Works Department before work starts.

Sources

Estero Municipal Improvement District Code section 8.32.100, Building sewer, side sewer, and sewer lateral

Also quoted:

Checked

What the rules say

These requirements are issued by Estero Municipal Improvement District, not by Foster City.

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:
    Estero Municipal Improvement District (Foster City)
    What it covers:
    uncovering, repairing, connecting to or altering any public sewer, and any work on any lateral, building sewer or side sewer

    Estero Municipal Improvement District Code section 8.40.010 provides that "No unauthorized person shall uncover, repair, make any connection with or opening into, use, alter or disturb any public sewer or appurtenances or perform any work on any lateral, building sewer, or side sewer without first obtaining a written permit from the district."

    What to do: Before any work on the lateral, get a written permit from the Estero Municipal Improvement District. Give the District at least 48 hours' notice before the inspection, and leave the pipe uncovered until it has been inspected and passed.

    Why this matters

    The permit reaches any work on a lateral, repairs included, and in Foster City the owner's lateral runs to the main sewer, through any public right-of-way or easement on the way. Section 8.40.050 provides that "No sewer shall be covered at any point until it has been inspected and passed for acceptance", and section 8.40.060 has the person doing the work tell the District it is ready for inspection not less than forty-eight hours before the inspection. Under section 8.40.130, owners or contractors who excavate in a public street to install sewers or make sewer connections need a separate permit from the county or whoever else has jurisdiction over the street.

    Issued by Estero Municipal Improvement District · Current wording dates from · Checked

    Estero Municipal Improvement District Code chapter 8.40, Sewer Service Permits and Fees

What this page cannot tell you

  • No assistance or grant programme has been reviewed for this jurisdiction yet.

Who governs and serves this area

Jurisdiction
Foster City (municipality)
Sewer service

How this compares to neighbouring cities

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

  • Foster City(this page)
    the main, including the connection fitting on the main
  • Redwood Cityabout 5 mi
    the cleanout
  • San Mateoabout 4 mi
    the main, including the connection fitting on the main
  • Belmontabout 5 mi
    the main, including the connection fitting on the main
  • Haywardabout 8 mi
    the main, including the connection fitting on the main
  • San Carlosabout 6 mi
    the cleanout (conditions apply; see that page)
  • South San Franciscoabout 8 mi
    the cleanout (conditions apply; see that page)
  • Hillsboroughabout 7 mi
    the main, including the connection fitting on the main
  • Burlingameabout 7 mi
    the main (conditions apply; see that page)

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, fitting included; your water line stops being yours at the meter.

Who owns the water service line in Foster City

Nearby cities and further reading

Look up a specific address

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

Search for an address