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Who pays for the sewer lateral in Laguna Beach, 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
your buildingproperty linesidewalkstreetmain
The thick length is yours.

If something’s wrong

If a repair needs a permit or an inspection

  • When you remodel · Inspection

    Laguna Beach requires the lateral to be cleaned and video inspected when certain things happen. Section 17.50.052 provides that all private sewer laterals connected to a city public sewer "shall be cleaned, video inspected, and provided a private sewer lateral inspection report", at the owner's expense, on the first of: a sewer spill from the lateral; a private property building remodel; a change of use; "The repair or replacement of any part of the private sewer lateral"; a significant repair or replacement of the main the lateral joins; or a written notice from the City. The chapter defines a public sewer as "a common sewer directly controlled by the city". In South Laguna, South Coast Water District provides the sewer service under contract to the City, "from Nyes Place to Three Arch Bay", so this requirement may not reach a lateral there.

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 Laguna Beach about the sewer lateral.

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

Who is responsible for which part

Laguna Beach puts the private sewer lateral on the owner up to and including its connection to the public sewer. Section 17.50.040 provides that every owner "shall be responsible for all preventative and corrective maintenance activities for the private sewer lateral, up to and including the connection to the public sewer", and that "The ongoing costs associated with maintaining private sewer laterals shall be borne by private property owners; the city shall not be liable for any of these costs."

The property owner
The private sewer lateral and its connection to the public sewer - work that "may include, but is not limited to, periodic video inspection, cleaning, repair and replacement of the line and connection joint". Owners must also abate an overflow promptly on notice, and are liable to the City for its costs of responding to a spill from their lateral.

What else is worth knowing

The chapter applies, under section 17.50.030, "to every private sewer lateral in the city that is directly connected to a public sewer for which the city has maintenance responsibility." Not every address in Laguna Beach is on a sewer the City maintains directly. In South Laguna, South Coast Water District provides the sewer service under contract to the City, "from Nyes Place to Three Arch Bay", and its own documents put the line in the same place. Its board resolved in March 2000 that "property owners shall be responsible for the maintenance of the sewer lateral line to the point of connection with the District's collector sewer"; its wastewater page says owners are responsible for "the entire length of their lateral line from their home or business to where it meets and connects to the sewer main under the street"; and its sewer infographic labels the lateral "Property Owner's Responsibility (Includes Connection)". The same resolution requires owners to notify the District in advance of any repair or cleaning of the lateral. So in South Laguna the pipe and the joint at the main are the owner's as well, but ask the District, not the City, before work starts there.

Sources

Laguna Beach Municipal Code section 17.50.040, Property owner responsibility

Also quoted:

Checked

What the rules say

Most relevant if you have received a notice from the city or district

  • When you remodelInspection

    Laguna Beach requires the lateral to be cleaned and video inspected when certain things happen. Section 17.50.052 provides that all private sewer laterals connected to a city public sewer "shall be cleaned, video inspected, and provided a private sewer lateral inspection report", at the owner's expense, on the first of: a sewer spill from the lateral; a private property building remodel; a change of use; "The repair or replacement of any part of the private sewer lateral"; a significant repair or replacement of the main the lateral joins; or a written notice from the City. The chapter defines a public sewer as "a common sewer directly controlled by the city". In South Laguna, South Coast Water District provides the sewer service under contract to the City, "from Nyes Place to Three Arch Bay", so this requirement may not reach a lateral there.

    What to do: Before a kitchen, bathroom or laundry remodel, or any lateral repair, budget for a cleaning and video inspection by a qualified plumber, and file the report and video with the City within fourteen days to obtain the certificate of compliance. In South Laguna, ask the City or South Coast Water District first whether the requirement reaches your lateral.

    Why this matters

    A remodel for this purpose is construction that needs a building permit and involves a bathroom, kitchen or laundry, adds plumbing that materially increases sewage flow, or exceeds one hundred thousand dollars. The video and report must be done by a California qualified plumber and filed with the City within fourteen days, and the City issues a certificate of compliance when the lateral passes. If it does not, the owner must make it fully functional, and section 17.50.054 provides that the work "requires a city plumbing permit for the work on private property and a public works permit for work within a public right-of-way which includes the connection to the public sewer."

    Current wording dates from · Checked

    Laguna Beach Municipal Code section 17.50.052, Cleaning and inspecting existing sewer laterals

    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
Laguna 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

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

  • Laguna Beach(this page)
    the main, including the connection fitting on the main
  • Dana Pointabout 6 mi
    the main, including the connection fitting on the main (conditions apply; see that page)
  • Costa Mesaabout 12 mi
    the main, including the connection fitting on the main
  • Santa Anaabout 15 mi
    the main, including the connection fitting on the main
  • Huntington Beachabout 17 mi
    the property line
  • Fountain Valleyabout 16 mi
    the main, including the connection fitting on the main
  • Garden Groveabout 20 mi
    the main
  • Orangeabout 18 mi
    the main, including the connection fitting on the main
  • Anaheimabout 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 Laguna Beach in general. To see which authorities serve one address, and what records exist for it, search for it.

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