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Who pays for the sewer lateral in Hanford, 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 Hanford public works director - an encroachment permit for any excavation in a city street or right-of-way, with the excavation bond
    What it covers:
    any excavation in a public street, alley, sidewalk or right-of-way, including repairs to a sewer lateral there

    Hanford Municipal Code section 12.04.030 provides that "No person or their contractors or subcontractors shall make or cause to be made any encroachment without first obtaining from the director a permit to do so", and section 12.04.010 defines an encroachment as "any excavation" in a city street or right-of-way. Section 13.08.070 adds that "Repairs and connections to the sewers requiring excavations in streets shall be bonded as required by Section 12.04.020".

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 Hanford about the sewer lateral.

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

Who is responsible for which part

Hanford puts the whole lateral on the owner, including the length under the street. Section 13.08.170 provides that "The property owner shall be responsible for the maintenance of the complete lateral connection to the street sewer main, including the portion of such lateral placed in the public right-of-way or easement", and that "The city will maintain all sewer mains, pump stations and treatment facilities."

The property owner
The lateral from the building to the street sewer main, the public right-of-way portion included. Ownership follows the same line: section 13.08.160 provides that "Laterals on private property belong to the property owner", and that all sewers in public streets become the City's "except the lateral serving an individual property".

What else is worth knowing

Nothing conditions the split: the City's duty stops at its mains, pump stations and treatment plant, and every length of the lateral is the owner's. The code does not say whether the tap on the main itself counts as part of the lateral connection, so a repair at the main is worth raising with public works before the street is opened. A lateral is also meant to serve one property - section 13.08.160 prohibits "Privately owned community systems serving more than one parcel of property".

Sources

Hanford Municipal Code section 13.08.170, Maintenance

Also quoted:

Checked

What 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

  • Before work on the pipePermit
    Who issues it:
    City of Hanford public works director - an encroachment permit for any excavation in a city street or right-of-way, with the excavation bond
    What it covers:
    any excavation in a public street, alley, sidewalk or right-of-way, including repairs to a sewer lateral there

    Hanford Municipal Code section 12.04.030 provides that "No person or their contractors or subcontractors shall make or cause to be made any encroachment without first obtaining from the director a permit to do so", and section 12.04.010 defines an encroachment as "any excavation" in a city street or right-of-way. Section 13.08.070 adds that "Repairs and connections to the sewers requiring excavations in streets shall be bonded as required by Section 12.04.020".

    What to do: Before work in the street, apply to public works for the encroachment permit and post the excavation bond. In an emergency, section 12.04.040 lets work begin without the permit only if the director "is notified of the needed work or maintenance and consents thereto prior to commencement of the work", with the permit applied for the next business day.

    Why this matters

    The owner maintains the lateral in the right-of-way as well as on the lot, so the length most likely to need a street opening is the owner's to repair - and that work needs the public works director's encroachment permit and the excavation bond before it starts.

    Current wording dates from · Checked

    Hanford Municipal Code section 13.08.070, Connections, repair permits and conditions of use

    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
Hanford (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

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

  • Hanford(this page)
    the main
  • Corcoranabout 18 mi
    the main
  • Visaliaabout 18 mi
    the main, including the connection fitting on the main
  • Tulareabout 20 mi
    the main
  • Dinubaabout 21 mi
    the main

Distances are approximate, in a straight line between the places’ centres.

Compare the rules city by city

Nearby cities and further reading

Look up a specific address

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

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