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Who pays for the sewer lateral in Palm Springs, CA

Which part of the pipe is yours

your buildingproperty linesidewalkstreetmain
The thick length is yours.

If something’s wrong

If a repair needs a permit or an inspection

  • Before work on the pipe · Permit

    Who issues it:
    City of Palm Springs Public Works Director
    What it covers:
    constructing building sewers in any street right-of-way and any pipe or excavation placed in or under the right-of-way

    Palm Springs Municipal Code section 15.16.010 provides that "No person shall construct building sewers or public sewers in any street right-of-way without first securing a permit in accordance with Chapter 14.16 relating to excavations in public streets and places." Chapter 14.16 is the City's encroachment permit: section 14.16.040 bars anyone "to place on, over or under such right-of-way any pipe line, conduit or other fixtures", or to dig in a way that endangers its normal use, "without having first obtained a permit as required by this chapter", and section 14.16.070 has the director issue it. The owner's lateral runs under the street to the City's main, so this is the City permit for digging there to reach it.

The repair rule in full, with its sources

No rule on file here is specific to selling, buying, remodelling or adding a unit; that does not mean none exists.

Who to call first about the sewer lateral

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

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

Who is responsible for which part

Palm Springs puts the whole lateral on the property owner, from the building to the City's sewer main. Section 15.04.040 of the municipal code provides that "Building sewers, including sewer laterals, shall be maintained by the owners of properties being served by the building sewers", and section 15.08.100 defines the sewer lateral as "the portion of the building sewer between the sewer main and the property or easement line" - the length under the street. The City's own share is the main: section 15.04.030 provides that "All public sewers shall be maintained by the city."

The property owner
The whole building sewer, the part under the street included, from the building to the sewer main. Section 15.04.040 assigns building sewers "including sewer laterals" to "the owners of properties being served by the building sewers", and section 15.08.100 places the lateral "between the sewer main and the property or easement line". The code does not say whether the joint where the lateral meets the main is the owner's or the City's; under section 15.20.030 the connection to the public sewer is made "under the supervision of the director of public works".

What else is worth knowing

The City maintains the public sewer, which section 15.08.060 defines as "a sewer main which is controlled by public authority". Where the main runs in an easement rather than the street, the lateral runs to the easement line. Not every property is on the sewer: chapter 15.14 lets the City exempt some buildings, which then use a private system, and section 15.24.030 lets the City extend sewer service to property outside the city limits. Desert Water Agency supplies water in Palm Springs but, by its own account, collects sewage only in Cathedral City: its Sewer System Management Plan says "The Agency's sanitary sewer collection area is limited to its boundary within the City of Cathedral City". On the map of Coachella Valley sewer agencies published by Coachella Valley Water District, Mission Springs Water District's boundary takes in a strip along the city's northern edge, about 6% of its land, and the District's sewer code, in its rules for grease interceptors, names the local land use agency as "City of Desert Hot Springs, City of Palm Springs or Riverside County". If the District collects your sewage, the line is in the same place: its code defines the building sewer as the part "extending from the building drain to the public sewer, including the sewer lateral and cleanout", and provides that "The User shall bear the burden and all expenses related to maintenance and repair or replacement of the Building Sewer". Like the City's code, it does not say who keeps the joint where the lateral meets the main. To know whose permits and inspections apply, check whose sewer charge you pay. On the same map about 15% of the city's land lies inside Coachella Valley Water District's area where its map shows no sewer service available, ground no agency's map shows as sewered; homes there on their own septic system are outside this answer.

Sources

Palm Springs Municipal Code section 15.04.040, Maintenance - Building sewers

Also quoted:

Checked

What is required

  • Before work on the pipePermit
    Who issues it:
    City of Palm Springs Public Works Director
    What it covers:
    constructing building sewers in any street right-of-way and any pipe or excavation placed in or under the right-of-way

    Palm Springs Municipal Code section 15.16.010 provides that "No person shall construct building sewers or public sewers in any street right-of-way without first securing a permit in accordance with Chapter 14.16 relating to excavations in public streets and places." Chapter 14.16 is the City's encroachment permit: section 14.16.040 bars anyone "to place on, over or under such right-of-way any pipe line, conduit or other fixtures", or to dig in a way that endangers its normal use, "without having first obtained a permit as required by this chapter", and section 14.16.070 has the director issue it. The owner's lateral runs under the street to the City's main, so this is the City permit for digging there to reach it.

    What to do: Before digging in the street to reach a lateral, apply to the City of Palm Springs for an encroachment permit, and for the separate sewer connection permit if the work will uncover or touch the public sewer. Ask what deposit the director will set, give at least 24 hours' notice before starting, and report the work when it is finished.

    Why this matters

    Touching the main needs a second permit. Section 15.20.010 provides that "No person shall uncover, make any connection with or opening into, use, alter or disturb any public sewer or appurtenance thereof without first obtaining a written permit from the director of public works", and section 15.20.030 has the connection made under the director's supervision. Under section 14.16.100 the application must carry the consent of any sanitary district, water district or other public body whose consent the law requires, and the permit is not issued until it is filed. The director may require a cash deposit or surety bond large enough to restore the right-of-way (section 14.16.180). Section 14.16.260 requires notice to the director "at least twenty-four hours prior to beginning such work", and section 14.16.270 requires notice again on completion; no work counts as completed until it is accepted. Section 14.16.300 then holds the permittee to the street for a year: "For a period of one year after the completion of the work the permittee shall repair and make good any injury or damage to any portion of the street which occurs as the result of work done under the permit".

    Checked

    Palm Springs Municipal Code section 15.16.010, Construction permits

    Also quoted:

What this page cannot tell you

  • No assistance or grant programme has been reviewed for this jurisdiction yet.

Who governs and serves this area

Jurisdiction
Palm Springs (municipality)
Sewer service

How this compares to neighbouring cities

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

  • Palm Springs(this page)
    the main
  • Indioabout 18 mi
    the main (conditions apply; see that page)
  • Coachellaabout 24 mi
    the property line
  • Beaumontabout 26 mi
    the main, including the connection fitting on the main
  • San Jacintoabout 26 mi
    the main
  • Moreno Valleyabout 39 mi
    the main, including the connection fitting on the main (conditions apply; see that page)
  • Riversideabout 50 mi
    the property line (conditions apply; see that page)
  • Coronaabout 59 mi
    the main
  • Norcoabout 59 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 Palm Springs in general. To see which authorities serve one address, and what records exist for it, search for it.

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