Who pays for the sewer lateral in Hawaiian Gardens, 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 Hawaiian Gardens City Engineer for the sewer construction permit, with the highway permit from the Community Development Director
- What it covers:
- constructing or altering a house lateral, and any excavation in a highway
Hawaiian Gardens adopts the County sewer code as its own in section 13.08.010, describing it as regulations that govern the City sanitary sewer system and "provide for the issuance of permits and collection of fees therefor". That division provides, in section 20.32.010, that no person other than those the division excepts shall construct or "alter or cause to be altered any public sewer, main-line sewer, house lateral" and other sewer works "without first obtaining a sewer construction permit from the County Engineer". Section 13.08.020 reads the County Engineer as the City Engineer. The same division puts the house lateral under the street on the owner, so a repair that alters the lateral is work this permit reaches. Reaching the pipe under the road is also an excavation in a highway, for which the County highway permit ordinance that section 12.04.020 adopts, "as that title currently exists, and/or as it may be amended from time to time by the County of Los Angeles", requires a permit before anyone "Makes or causes to be made any excavation or encroachment in any highway".
Who to call first about the sewer lateral
Hawaiian Gardens: official site(opens in a new tab)The documents this answer is built on
Who is responsible for which part
Hawaiian Gardens writes no sewer ownership rule of its own and borrows the County's. Section 13.08.010 of its municipal code adopts Title 20, Utilities, Division 2 of the Los Angeles County Code as the City's sanitary sewer ordinance - the division "which may be amended from time to time by the County of Los Angeles to comply with new State permits", and which regulates "the use, operation, maintenance, and repair of the City sanitary sewer system". Inside that adopted division, section 20.24.080 provides that all house laterals "shall be maintained by the owner of the property served in a safe and sanitary condition", and section 20.20.130 defines a "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 construction with the main-line sewer". The length the City's ordinance puts on the owner is the length under the road.
- The property owner
- The run under the street, named as such. Section 20.24.080 assigns house laterals to "the owner of the property served", and section 20.20.130 places that lateral within the street or right-of-way, from the property line to the main-line sewer. Section 20.20.220 defines the main-line sewer independently - one "in which changes in alignment and grade occur only at manholes", adding that such sewers "are generally eight inches or more in diameter" - so the owner's length ends where that pipe begins. Los Angeles County Public Works, whose Consolidated Sewer Maintenance District lists Hawaiian Gardens among its cities, states the same length from the other side: "The private property owner is responsible for the entire length of the lateral, which includes that portion that may be located within the public right of way".
What else is worth knowing
Sources
Hawaiian Gardens Municipal Code chapter 13.08, Sanitary SewersWhat the rules say
Most relevant if you have a backup or blockage
No rule on file here is specific to a backup or blockage; that does not mean none exists.
Also in force here
- Who issues it:
- City of Hawaiian Gardens City Engineer for the sewer construction permit, with the highway permit from the Community Development Director
- What it covers:
- constructing or altering a house lateral, and any excavation in a highway
Hawaiian Gardens adopts the County sewer code as its own in section 13.08.010, describing it as regulations that govern the City sanitary sewer system and "provide for the issuance of permits and collection of fees therefor". That division provides, in section 20.32.010, that no person other than those the division excepts shall construct or "alter or cause to be altered any public sewer, main-line sewer, house lateral" and other sewer works "without first obtaining a sewer construction permit from the County Engineer". Section 13.08.020 reads the County Engineer as the City Engineer. The same division puts the house lateral under the street on the owner, so a repair that alters the lateral is work this permit reaches. Reaching the pipe under the road is also an excavation in a highway, for which the County highway permit ordinance that section 12.04.020 adopts, "as that title currently exists, and/or as it may be amended from time to time by the County of Los Angeles", requires a permit before anyone "Makes or causes to be made any excavation or encroachment in any highway".
What to do: Before a contractor starts on a lateral, ask the City of Hawaiian Gardens which permits the job needs - a sewer construction permit for the lateral and, if the street is to be opened, a highway excavation permit - and book the inspection at least 24 hours ahead, with the trench left open until it is done. If a blocked lateral is an emergency, apply as soon as possible afterwards and ask for the investigation fee to be waived.
Hawaiian Gardens Municipal Code chapter 13.08, Sanitary SewersWhy this matters
The sewer division fixes the inspection routine. Section 20.32.600: "The permittee shall notify the county engineer at least 24 hours prior to the time any inspection is to be made." Section 20.32.610: "At the time of the inspection the permittee shall have all work uncovered and convenient". Working first and applying later has a price: under section 20.32.122, "any person failing to obtain a sewer construction permit as required by Section 20.32.010 of this code shall pay an investigation fee", which may be waived where the work was "performed as a result of an emergency or urgent circumstances which precluded timely application for a sewer construction permit" and an application follows as soon as possible. On the street side, the City's own section 12.04.040 doubles the fee for work started without the permits the Community Development Department issues, adding at most five hundred dollars. In the adopted highway ordinance, where section 12.04.010 makes the Community Development Director the commissioner, section 16.12.010 asks every applicant for "a cash deposit or other adequate security, as determined by the commissioner", with no figure set, and section 16.18.030 lets the Director waive the plat "When excavations are made for service connections or for the location of trouble in conduits, cable or pipe, or for making repairs thereto".
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
- Hawaiian Gardens (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 Hawaiian GardensNearby cities and further reading
Look up a specific address
This page describes what applies to properties in Hawaiian Gardens in general. To see which authorities serve one address, and what records exist for it, search for it.
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