Who pays for the sewer lateral in Fresno, 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
Who to call first about the sewer lateral
City of Fresno's 311 Center (559) 621-CITY (2489)
Hours, after-hours and sourcesIf a repair needs a permit or an inspection
No rule on file here is specific to a repair; that does not mean none exists.
Buying or selling?
No rule on file here is specific to selling or buying; that does not mean none exists.
Planning work?
- Who issues it:
- City of Fresno, across Public Works Engineering, Planning & Development and Utilities Billing & Collection
- What it covers:
- connecting a property to the City's sanitary sewer system, including abandoning an existing septic tank or cesspool
The City of Fresno publishes six steps to connect a property to its sanitary sewer system: pay connection fees to Public Works Engineering, obtain the appropriate permits from Planning & Development, complete the work and abandon any septic tank or cesspool, obtain final inspection approval, sign up for sewer service billing with Utilities Billing & Collection, and then be billed monthly. The City adds that "it is the customer's responsibility to ensure that Utilities Billing & Collection (UB&C) is notified of the final inspection approval".
Who is responsible for which part
Who to call first
City of Fresno's 311 Center
What happens: City crews, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for sewer emergencies, come out and determine whether the blockage is in the sewer lateral or the City's main line
The property owner maintains and repairs the whole sewer lateral, and Fresno says so about the expensive part outright: the portion beneath the sidewalk and street, up to where it joins the public main. The City will come out and tell you whether the blockage is yours or its main - but if it is yours, it is yours to fix.
- The property owner
- All of it, in the City's own words. "It is the property owner's responsibility to maintain and repair their own sewer lateral from the house up to the point of connection with the public sanitary sewer main. This includes both the portion on private property and the portion located beneath the sidewalk and street up to the point where the lateral connects to the public main." Where a sewer overflow is reported, City staff attend and "determine if the blockage is a sewer lateral issue or a sanitary sewer system main line issue"; if it is the lateral, "the property owner is responsible for repairs and should call a certified plumber to take care of the problem".
What else is worth knowing
Sources
City of Fresno, Public UtilitiesWhat the rules say
Most relevant if you are repairing or replacing the pipe
No rule on file here is specific to repairing or replacing the pipe; that does not mean none exists.
Also in force here
- Who issues it:
- City of Fresno, across Public Works Engineering, Planning & Development and Utilities Billing & Collection
- What it covers:
- connecting a property to the City's sanitary sewer system, including abandoning an existing septic tank or cesspool
The City of Fresno publishes six steps to connect a property to its sanitary sewer system: pay connection fees to Public Works Engineering, obtain the appropriate permits from Planning & Development, complete the work and abandon any septic tank or cesspool, obtain final inspection approval, sign up for sewer service billing with Utilities Billing & Collection, and then be billed monthly. The City adds that "it is the customer's responsibility to ensure that Utilities Billing & Collection (UB&C) is notified of the final inspection approval".
What to do: After your final inspection is signed off, ring Utilities Billing & Collection yourself and confirm they have recorded it - do not assume Inspection Services will tell them. Get the connection fee estimate from Public Works Engineering before starting, since the City quotes it rather than publishing it, and if you are coming off septic, plan for the tank or cesspool to be abandoned as part of the work rather than left in place.
City of Fresno, Public UtilitiesWhy this matters
That last responsibility carries a price the City states outright: if Utilities Billing & Collection "is not notified upon final inspection and later learns of the completed connection to the sanitary sewer system, the customer will be back billed to the date of final inspection, up to a maximum of 3 years". The customer has to carry a message between two City departments, and the cost of not carrying it is up to three years of backdated service charges. It is avoided completely by one phone call.
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
- Fresno (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 5 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 FresnoNearby cities and further reading
Look up a specific address
This page describes what applies to properties in Fresno in general. To see which authorities serve one address, and what records exist for it, search for it.
Search for an address