Who pays for the sewer lateral in Redondo Beach, CA
Which part of the pipe is yours
Yours all the way to the main, including the fitting where it joins
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 Redondo Beach, the Engineer
- What it covers:
- any connection with a public sewer of the City, and making one without a permit is unlawful to maintain as well as to make
The City of Redondo Beach states that "it is unlawful for any person to make or to maintain, or to cause to be made or maintained, any connection with any public sewer of the City, until a permit therefor shall have first been obtained from the Engineer". Every connection "shall be made in accordance with the Engineering and Public Works Department's Standard Plans and Specifications", the applicant "shall have the required sewer installation performed by a contractor licensed by the State to perform this type of work", and a wastewater capital facility charge is collected for each parcel connected. Sewers connected directly to City trunk sewers are inspected by the City during construction.
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
Redondo Beach: official site(opens in a new tab)The documents this answer is built on
Who is responsible for which part
The property owner is responsible for the sewer connection, and the City's own definition puts the expensive part inside it: a "sewer connection" here is a privately maintained line within the public street, including the wye or tee at the main. The City maintains the public sewers and claims no share of the connection.
- The property owner
- The sewer connection, which in Redondo Beach is defined to include the run under the road. Section 5-4.303 states that "the property owner shall be responsible for the construction, maintenance and repairs of all property sewer connection", and section 5-4.103 defines a sewer connection as "a privately maintained sewer line, including the connection, wye or tee, within a public street or right-of-way, proposed to connect any parcel, lot or part of a lot to a main line sewer". So the fitting at the main is named as the owner's, which most codes leave unsaid.
What else is worth knowing
Sources
City of Redondo Beach Municipal Code, Title 5 chapter 4 article 3, section 5-4.303 on the property owner's responsibilityWhat the rules say
Most relevant if you are remodelling or adding a unit
- Who issues it:
- City of Redondo Beach, the Engineer
- What it covers:
- any connection with a public sewer of the City, and making one without a permit is unlawful to maintain as well as to make
The City of Redondo Beach states that "it is unlawful for any person to make or to maintain, or to cause to be made or maintained, any connection with any public sewer of the City, until a permit therefor shall have first been obtained from the Engineer". Every connection "shall be made in accordance with the Engineering and Public Works Department's Standard Plans and Specifications", the applicant "shall have the required sewer installation performed by a contractor licensed by the State to perform this type of work", and a wastewater capital facility charge is collected for each parcel connected. Sewers connected directly to City trunk sewers are inspected by the City during construction.
What to do: Get the Engineer's permit before any work touches the connection, and ask at the same time whether the existing connection is on record as permitted - that question is worth more here than in neighbouring cities. Check your contractor holds a State licence for this type of work, ask what the wastewater capital facility charge comes to for your parcel, since the code names it without a figure, and expect a City inspection during construction if your connection runs to a trunk sewer.
City of Redondo Beach Municipal Code, Title 5 chapter 4 article 3, Wastewater Facility / General RequirementsWhy this matters
One word here matters. Redondo Beach makes it unlawful to MAINTAIN an unpermitted connection as well as to make one, which turns it into a continuing state rather than a past event. On the face of the section, a household whose pipe was connected without a permit long before they bought the house is maintaining an unlawful connection now. Nothing read says how the City applies that, so treat it as a question worth asking before a sale rather than as a penalty anyone has reported.
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
- Redondo 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
6 of the 8 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 main, fitting included; your water line stops being yours at the meter.
Who owns the water service line in Redondo BeachNearby cities and further reading
Look up a specific address
This page describes what applies to properties in Redondo Beach in general. To see which authorities serve one address, and what records exist for it, search for it.
Search for an address