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Who pays for the sewer lateral in Sacramento, CA

Which part of the pipe is yours

  • Sewer lateral

    Yours all the way to the main under the road — if certain conditions are met

    Why, and what to do
  • Water service line

    Yours from the meter to your building — if certain conditions are met

    Why, and what to do
your buildingproperty linesidewalkstreetmain
The thick length is yours. A dashed marker means the position depends on your property — see below.

If something’s wrong

If a repair needs a permit or an inspection

  • Before work on the pipe · Work 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.

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 Sacramento about the sewer lateral.

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

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 decides which applies

On the City's sewer nothing splits the pipe, and the Department has 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. Not every address in Sacramento is on the City's sewer, and where it is not, none of this applies. The Department's plan says that "Wastewater collection in the City of Sacramento is provided by both the City and the Sacramento Area Sewer District (SASD)", with the District's part of the system "primarily in the northwest and southeast sections of the City". If your address is served by SacSewer (the Sacramento Area Sewer District), its ordinance governs the lateral instead, and it keeps the length nearest the main. Where the District owns the main line it "is responsible for clearing stoppages and for inspecting, maintaining, and repairing the lower lateral, District cleanouts, manholes and main line", and the owner has "the sole responsibility for clearing stoppages, inspecting, maintaining, and repairing the upper lateral, including backwater valve". The divide is "typically, the responsibility delineation between the upper and lower lateral is at the District cleanout". Your sewer bill says which of the two collects from you; if it does not, ask the Department of Utilities.

Sources

Sacramento City Code section 13.08.150, Maintenance and repair

Also quoted:

Checked

What the rules say

Most relevant if you have received a notice from the city or district

No rule on file here is specific to a notice from the city or district; that does not mean none exists.

Also in force here

  • Before work on the pipeWork 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: Check your sewer bill first: if SacSewer, not the City, collects from you, this rule is not yours, so ask the District what it requires. Otherwise, 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

    This is the City's rule for lines connected to the City's sewer. In parts of the City, mainly the northwest and southeast, the Sacramento Area Sewer District collects instead; if it collects from you, its ordinance governs your lateral and this section does not apply. 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.

    Current wording dates from · Checked

    Sacramento City Code section 13.08.180

    Also quoted:

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
Sacramento (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

5 of the 6 nearest cities draw the line somewhere else. Each authority publishes only its own rule.

  • Sacramento(this page)
    the main (conditions apply)
  • West Sacramentoabout 4 mi
    the cleanout (conditions apply; see that page)
  • Elk Groveabout 11 mi
    the cleanout (conditions apply; see that page)
  • Rosevilleabout 16 mi
    the cleanout (conditions apply; see that page)
  • Woodlandabout 17 mi
    the property line (conditions apply; see that page)
  • Galtabout 23 mi
    the main
  • Folsomabout 19 mi
    the cleanout (conditions apply; see that page)

Distances are approximate, in a straight line between the places’ centres.

Compare the rules city by city

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; your water line stops being yours at the meter.

Who owns the water service line in Sacramento

Nearby cities and further reading

Look up a specific address

This page describes what applies to properties in Sacramento in general. To see which authorities serve one address, and what records exist for it, search for it.

Search for an address