Who pays for the sewer lateral in Long 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
Who is responsible for which part
Long Beach maintains the sewer pipe under the street. Its code makes the owner responsible for the building sewer and then, "notwithstanding" that, has the Water Department maintain the house connection from the property line to the main - including the wye or saddle at the main, and with no cleanout condition attached.
- Long Beach
- The house connection, which section 15.04 defines as "that portion of a sewer lateral in the street which extends from the wye or tee branch or saddle of a main line sewer or other point of connection with a main line sewer to the property line". Section 15.20.060 states that "the above provisions notwithstanding, the Water Department shall maintain the house connection extending from the property line to the main line sewer within the public right-of-way". No condition is attached - no cleanout, no prior inspection, no programme membership.
- The property owner
- The building sewer, which section 15.04 defines as "that portion of a sewer lateral beginning two feet (2') from the exterior wall of a building or foundation of a building and extending to its connection with the house connection at the property line". Section 15.20.060 requires that it "shall be maintained by the owner of the property in a safe and sanitary condition".
- What else is worth knowing
- The property line is the line, and nothing conditions it - which matters, because in several other cities the authority's half depends on a cleanout existing and being reachable, and here it does not. Two details are worth knowing. The City's half includes the fitting where your pipe meets the main, the wye or tee or saddle, which is the join most authorities leave unsaid. And the code defines your building sewer as beginning two feet from the exterior wall, so the first two feet out of the house sits outside that definition - it is your plumbing on any reading, but the definition does not reach it.
What is required
Long Beach requires a permit from the General Manager before anyone constructs or alters a private sewer on private property or a sewer lateral, issued through the Plumbing Division of the Planning and Building Department. Employees and contractors of the Water Department acting in their duties are exempt. For work in a public street the code adds that "no permit shall be issued to any person to construct or alter any sewer within a public street, unless the person holds a valid sewer contractor's license", with two narrow exceptions. The City also publishes the standard the work must meet: building sewers "shall be laid on straight lines and uniform grades between cleanouts", at a minimum grade of a quarter inch per foot.
What to do: Get the permit before work starts - it is required for altering a sewer lateral on private property, not only for work in the street. If the problem turns out to be between your property line and the main, stop and ring the City rather than instructing a contractor: that length is the Water Department's to maintain. And when you take quotes for your own side, ask whether the work will meet the minimum grade of a quarter inch per foot on straight lines between cleanouts, which is the City's own standard.
City of Long Beach Municipal Code, Title 15 chapter 15.08, SewersWhy this matters
The licence clause here is almost word for word Anaheim's, and it means something different because of who owns the pipe in the street. In Anaheim the owner does, so the requirement falls on the homeowner's contractor. In Long Beach the Water Department maintains the run from the property line to the main, so a homeowner's work is usually on their own side of the line, where the permit is the ordinary one through the Plumbing Division. The published grade is the part worth using: a quarter inch per foot is a number to hold a quote to, and few authorities on this site put one in reach of the person paying.
Who governs and serves this area
- Jurisdiction
- Long Beach (municipality)
- Sewer service
- Not mapped. No sewer service territory covering this area has been added, so BelowGrid cannot say who serves an individual address here.
What BelowGrid cannot say yet
- 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.
How this compares to neighbouring cities
3 of the 4 nearest cities draw the line somewhere else. No single authority publishes that comparison, because each knows only about itself.
Your other pipe has a different answer
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 Long BeachLook up a specific address
A jurisdiction page describes what applies to properties in general. To see which authorities serve one address and what records exist for it, search for it.
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