Who pays for the sewer lateral in Sacramento, CA

Who is responsible for which part

The customer is responsible for the private sewer line "regardless of the cause", and the code says that line includes the portion under the public road. The department may unblock or repair the part nearest the main where there is an accessible cleanout, but it is not required to and doing so changes nothing.

The property owner

All of it, including under the road, and whatever the cause. The City states that "the customer shall maintain in good condition, and shall be responsible, regardless of the cause, for all required repairs to the customer's private sewer line and all other sewer pipe(s) and appurtenances on customer's premises, including the 'Y' cleanout and its connections", and defines a private sewer line as one "that connects to the city sewer main, including that portion of the private sewer line located within the public right-of-way". Excavating in the right-of-way to do that work requires complying with the rest of the code first. One thing worth doing anyway: the department may - but is not required to - inspect and clear or repair the portion nearest the main where the line "is equipped with a 'Y' cleanout that is visible and accessible to department personnel", and section 13.08.180 requires that cleanout to be installed before a new connection and whenever repairs are made to an existing line.

What else is worth knowing

Nothing splits the pipe, and the Department has now said so in its own words where the code left room to argue. Its sewer system management plan states that "per City Code 13.08.020, when a sewer main is located in a public right-of-way or easement, City crews are required to inspect, maintain and repair only the sewer mains and associated facilities", and that "services or laterals are considered private from the point of connection with the main to the private property and beyond". It adds, plainly: "the City does not own and is not responsible for maintenance of the lower laterals." So the run beneath the road is yours on both the code and the Department's own account of what its crews do. One limit on that plan, and it matters depending on where you live. It covers the SEPARATED sewer system only: "management, operation, and maintenance of the combined sewer system is not included as part of this audit since the SWRCB WDR does not currently require the inclusion of the combined sewer system in the SSMP". The combined system serves the older central city, so if your address is in that area these sentences are not about your pipe - ask the Department of Utilities which system serves you.

Checked 2026-09-17

What is required

• When you askWork required

  Sacramento City Code 13.08.180 states that "the customer shall install a 'Y' cleanout on the customer's private sewer line, that conforms to the standard specifications, prior to receiving a new service connection, or, for existing service connections, when any repairs are made to the customer's private sewer line". Section 13.08.150(A) adds that the "customer shall comply with all requirements under this code prior to excavating anywhere within the pubic right-of-way for the purpose of maintaining and/or repairing the customer's private sewer line" - the misspelling is the code's own.

  What to do: If you are having the line repaired, confirm with your contractor that a conforming "Y" cleanout is included and that it will be left visible and accessible - not paved or landscaped over. Ask the Department of Utilities for the standard specification it must conform to before the work, rather than after.

  Why this matters▸▾

  The cleanout is not only an obligation, it is the key to the only help the City offers. Section 13.08.150(B) lets department personnel inspect and unblock the portion nearest the main, but only "if the customer's private sewer line is equipped with a 'Y' cleanout that is visible and accessible to department personnel". Repair the line without installing one to specification and that discretion is closed off for good. The code never puts those two sentences together; a reader has to.

  In force since 2005-01-01 · Checked 2026-09-12

  Sacramento City Code section 13.08.180

  Also quoted:

  • Sacramento City Code section 13.08.150, Maintenance and repair - Indemnity

Who governs and serves this area

Jurisdiction

Sacramento (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.