Who pays for the sewer lateral in Huntington Beach, CA
Which part of the pipe is yours
Yours from your property line to your building
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 Huntington Beach
- What it covers:
- installing any pipe, apparatus, appliance or connection to any part of the City sewer system
"No person shall install any pipe, apparatus, appliance or connection to any part of the City sewer system without first obtaining an encroachment permit to do so. The applicant shall bear the cost for all labor and materials, and shall be a licensed contractor or shall employ a contractor duly licensed under the laws of the State of California to perform such work." A separate clause reaches anyone adding a second home on a lot: where occupancy "is changed from one to two or more ... an additional connection fee shall apply", and the Director "may require the owner of such a parcel of land to install separate sewer lines for each occupancy".
Buying or selling?
No rule on file here is specific to selling or buying; that does not mean none exists.
Planning work?
The remodelling rule in full, with its sourcesWho to call first about the sewer lateral
Huntington Beach: official site(opens in a new tab)The documents this answer is built on
Who is responsible for which part
The City pays for the run under the road. Huntington Beach Municipal Code § 14.54.035(C) provides that the "City will pay the cost of repair and maintenance of all lateral lines from the City-owned sewer main through the public right-of-way to the private property line", and that "the owner is responsible for all costs of repair and maintenance of all lateral lines on private property not within the public right-of-way". The City took ownership of that portion in January 2008. Your side is the part across your own land.
- Huntington Beach
- From its main out to your property line, and it pays. Huntington Beach Municipal Code section 14.54.035 provides that "repair and maintenance of all sewer mains dedicated to the City shall be the responsibility of the City", and that "City will pay the cost of repair and maintenance of all lateral lines from the City-owned sewer main through the public right-of-way to the private property line". The City's own Sewer System Management Plan says the same in its own words: "the City is responsible for the maintenance and repair of the lower portion of the service laterals located within the City public right-of-way from the property line to the connection at the City's sewer main", and records that "the City took ownership of the portion of the sewer service laterals within the public right-of-way in 2008".
- The property owner
- The part on your own land. Section 14.54.035(C) provides that "the owner is responsible for all costs of repair and maintenance of all lateral lines on private property not within the public right-of-way", and section 14.54.035(B) states the general rule it carves out of: "except as provided herein, repair and maintenance of all privately-owned sewer mains and all lateral lines, equipment and appurtenances connected to the City sewer mains shall be the responsibility of the owner/user". Chapter 14.36 adds what you pay for when work is done: section 14.36.030(A) makes the applicant "responsible for the cost of constructing, maintaining, or replacing any part of a sewer system on private property, required by the Director, from the sewer main line to and including any on-site structure", with the work done by a licensed contractor under an encroachment permit.
What else is worth knowing
Sources
Huntington Beach Municipal Code, Title 14 Water and Sewers, Chapter 14.54 Sewer Service User ChargeWhat 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 Huntington Beach
- What it covers:
- installing any pipe, apparatus, appliance or connection to any part of the City sewer system
"No person shall install any pipe, apparatus, appliance or connection to any part of the City sewer system without first obtaining an encroachment permit to do so. The applicant shall bear the cost for all labor and materials, and shall be a licensed contractor or shall employ a contractor duly licensed under the laws of the State of California to perform such work." A separate clause reaches anyone adding a second home on a lot: where occupancy "is changed from one to two or more ... an additional connection fee shall apply", and the Director "may require the owner of such a parcel of land to install separate sewer lines for each occupancy".
What to do: Get the encroachment permit before work is scheduled, and check that whoever quotes the job holds a current California contractor's licence - the code requires it and an unlicensed job is one the City did not permit. Check separately that your contractor and every subcontractor holds a current Huntington Beach business licence, which Title 12 asks for by name, and that their public liability cover meets the City's figure of "$300,000.00 combined single limit per occurrence" with the City named as an additional insured. Agree a completion date with them in writing: the permit "shall be void if the project, including restoration, has not been completed within 60 days", extensions are at the Director's discretion, and overrunning a road or lane closure carries a penalty priced on the public's inconvenience rather than the City's costs - the code says it is "based upon estimated costs to the traveling public due to delays and additional travel distance around roadway closures". If your project adds a dwelling unit, ask Public Works two specific questions early: what the additional connection fee will be, and whether the Director will require a separate sewer line for the new occupancy. Ask before the design is fixed; a second lateral run to the main is not something to discover at plan check. One thing to settle before you need it rather than at the time: if the lateral fails while the department is shut, the code lets the work start, and then gives you four hours. An emergency permit must be applied for "within four hours after the department's offices are first opened", with a written statement of the basis of the emergency and a description of the work done.
Huntington Beach Municipal Code, Title 14 Water and Sewers, Chapter 14.36 Sewer System Service Connections, Fees, Charges and DepositsWhy this matters
The words that make this broad are "any part of the City sewer system". Because your responsibility here runs "from the sewer main line to and including any on-site structure", a lateral replacement ends at the City's pipe by definition, so the permit is not reserved for new construction. The licensed-contractor requirement is in the ordinance rather than in a policy note, and it rules out doing the work yourself. And if you are adding an accessory dwelling unit - the commonest way a parcel goes from one occupancy to two - section 14.36.040 puts an additional connection fee in play and lets the Director require a separate sewer line for each occupancy. That is a second run to the main, priced after the plans are drawn rather than before.
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
- Huntington Beach (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
All 8 of the 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 property line; your water line stops being yours at the meter.
Who owns the water service line in Huntington BeachNearby cities and further reading
Look up a specific address
This page describes what applies to properties in Huntington Beach in general. To see which authorities serve one address, and what records exist for it, search for it.
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