Who pays for the sewer lateral in Rialto, 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 do
Who is responsible for which part
The whole run is yours and so is the joint: maintenance liability "includes the entire building sewer extending from the building drain into the public right-of-way up to and including the connection with the public sewer". Rialto goes one step further than almost anywhere else - if there is no suitable fitting waiting at the main, "the owner shall at his/her expense install a 'Y' branch in the public sewer at the location specified by the city engineer". The owner's cost reaches inside the City's own pipe.
- The property owner
- Everything from the building drain to the City's sewer, the connection included. Section 12.08.165 provides that "building sewers, including sewer laterals, shall be maintained by the owners of properties being served by the building sewers", and that "maintenance liability of a building sewer includes the entire building sewer extending from the building drain into the public right-of-way up to and including the connection with the public sewer". Section 12.08.140 adds the installation side: "all costs and expenses incident to the installation and connection of the building sewer is borne by the owner."
- What else is worth knowing
- Nothing splits the pipe, and the interesting question in Rialto is not where your responsibility stops but how far into the City's main it can reach. Section 12.08.160 requires the connection to be made at a "Y" branch where one exists, and provides that "if the public sewer is twelve inches in diameter or less, and no properly located 'Y' branch is available, the owner shall at his/her expense install a 'Y' branch in the public sewer at the location specified by the city engineer". Where the main is larger, the code contemplates cutting "a neat hole ... into the public sewer to receive the building sewer", with the joint made "secure and watertight by encasement in concrete". Two things follow for anyone facing a new connection or a full replacement. The cost of the job is not bounded by your property line or even by the outside of the main, and the location of the work is the city engineer's choice rather than your contractor's. Alongside that runs an indemnity: section 12.08.140 has the owner indemnify "the city from any loss or damage that may directly or indirectly be occasioned by the installation of the building sewer".
What is required
Rialto requires a permit before maintenance, not only before new work: owners "shall first obtain a permit in accordance with Chapter 11.04 prior to performing any maintenance on the building sewer requiring an excavation in the public right-of-way". Separately, "no unauthorized person shall uncover, make any connections with or opening into, use, alter, or disturb any public sewer or appurtenance thereof without first obtaining a written permit from the city engineer". And the connection itself has to be witnessed: connections under sections 12.08.120 to 12.08.170 "shall be made in the presence of the city engineer or his/her representative".
What to do: Before a contractor is booked, ask two questions: will the work reach the public right-of-way - for anything at the main end the answer is yes - and has the chapter 11.04 permit been applied for. Then book the city engineer's attendance for the connection rather than assuming an inspector will turn up, because the code requires the work to be done in their presence. Ask your contractor what their insurance covers for work inside the City's main, since you are the one indemnifying the City for it, and confirm who is restoring the street afterwards - section 12.08.170 puts that on the person responsible for the excavation and requires it to be done "in a manner satisfactory to the city".
Rialto Municipal Code, Title 12 Public Utilities, Chapter 12.08 Sewer SystemWhy this matters
In Rialto your liability runs "up to and including the connection with the public sewer", so the length most likely to fail - the last few feet and the joint at the main - is in the street. That makes a routine maintenance dig an excavation in the public right-of-way, and this clause a permit you need for ordinary work rather than a formality reserved for new construction. The witnessing requirement is the one people get wrong: the connection has to be made in the city engineer's presence, not inspected after the fact, so an unwitnessed job may have to be dug up again. And the stakes are higher here than the wording suggests, because section 12.08.160 can require you to pay for a fitting installed inside the City's own main at a location the city engineer picks, while section 12.08.140 has you indemnify the City for loss "occasioned by the installation of the building sewer".
Who governs and serves this area
- Jurisdiction
- Rialto (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
All 4 of the nearest cities draw the line somewhere else. No single authority publishes that comparison, because each knows only about itself.
Look 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.
Search for an address