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Who pays for the sewer lateral in Livermore, CA

Which part of the pipe is yours

  • Sewer lateral

    Yours from the cleanout to your building — if certain conditions are met

    Why, and what to do
your buildingproperty linesidewalkstreetmain
The thick length is yours. A dashed marker means the position depends on your property — see below.

If something’s wrong

If 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?

  • Any time · Work required

    Livermore Municipal Code section 13.28.090(A) provides that "When any property is connected to the city wastewater system, the property owner shall install the service lateral", and that "Installation shall include a two-way clean-out as called for in the City’s Standard Details and the City’s Standard Specifications."

The remodelling rule in full, with its sources

Who to call first about the sewer lateral

BelowGrid has no first-call guidance on file from Livermore about the sewer lateral.

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

Who is responsible for which part

In Livermore the City looks after the street end of a single-family home's service lateral, but only where the lateral has a permitted two-way clean-out. Section 13.28.090(B) of the City's code provides that "For those single-family residential service laterals that have an appropriately permitted and installed two-way clean-out, the City will clean, maintain and repair as necessary the portion of the service lateral from the clean-out to the sanitary sewer main line."

Livermore
For a single-family residential service lateral with an appropriately permitted and installed two-way clean-out, the portion from the clean-out to the sanitary sewer main line, which the City "will clean, maintain and repair as necessary".
The property owner
Everything from the clean-out back to the house. Section 13.28.090(B) continues: "The property owner remains responsible for all maintenance, repair and replacement of the sanitary sewer from the clean-out to the household or other structures on the property." When a property is connected, section 13.28.090(A) has the owner install the service lateral, which section 13.32.020 defines as "the pipe between the City’s sewer line and the customer’s service connection at the edge of the street or easement", with a two-way clean-out as the City's standard details call for.

What decides which applies

The City's share depends on two things: the property must be a single-family home, and its lateral must have an appropriately permitted and installed two-way clean-out. For a lateral without such a clean-out, or for any property other than a single-family home, section 13.28.090 does not state who maintains the lateral or where one side ends. The same chapter counts a townhouse, a duplex, a condominium and a mobile home as a multifamily residential structure, not a single-family one. If your property falls outside the single-family, permitted clean-out case, ask the City who is responsible for the pipe under the street before work starts.

Sources

Livermore Municipal Code section 13.28.090, Service lateral

Also quoted:

Checked

What is required

  • Any timeWork required

    Livermore Municipal Code section 13.28.090(A) provides that "When any property is connected to the city wastewater system, the property owner shall install the service lateral", and that "Installation shall include a two-way clean-out as called for in the City’s Standard Details and the City’s Standard Specifications."

    What to do: Before a property is connected, plan the service lateral with a two-way clean-out to the City's standard details, and get the City's encroachment permit. If you own a single-family home, find out whether its lateral already has a permitted two-way clean-out before paying for work between the clean-out and the main.

    Why this matters

    For a single-family home the clean-out decides who looks after the pipe under the street. Section 13.28.090(B) has the City clean, maintain and repair the lateral from an appropriately permitted and installed two-way clean-out to the main; without one, section 13.28.090 does not say that the City will. Section 13.28.050(D) also provides that "The person wishing to connect must also obtain an encroachment permit before connecting".

    Current wording dates from · Checked

    Livermore Municipal Code section 13.28.090, Service lateral

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
Livermore (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.

  • Livermore(this page)
    the cleanout (conditions apply)
  • Pleasantonabout 7 mi
    the main
  • San Ramonabout 11 mi
    the main (conditions apply; see that page)
  • Haywardabout 19 mi
    the main, including the connection fitting on the main
  • Brentwoodabout 17 mi
    the property line (conditions apply; see that page)
  • San Leandroabout 22 mi
    the main
  • Alamedaabout 28 mi
    the property line (conditions apply; see that page)
  • Berkeleyabout 32 mi
    the curb
  • Emeryvilleabout 31 mi
    the main, including the connection fitting on 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 Livermore in general. To see which authorities serve one address, and what records exist for it, search for it.

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