Who pays for the sewer lateral in San Bernardino, CA
Which part of the pipe is yours
Yours all the way to the main under the road
Why, and what to do
If something’s wrong
If a repair needs a permit or an inspection
Your lateral runs past your property line here - "the portion of the Private Sewer Lateral that extends beyond the property line in the public right of way is also the owner's responsibility to maintain and repair" - so repairing it usually means digging in the street. The Department requires that "users shall comply with all requirements under the San Bernardino Municipal Code and applicable Rules and Regulations of the SBMWD prior to excavating anywhere within the public right-of-way for the purpose of maintaining and/or repairing the User's private sewer lateral". Leaving it broken has its own consequence: an inoperative lateral constituting a nuisance "as that term is defined in California Health and Safety Code section 5410" is subject to sections 5410 through 5416, "enforced by the City's Public Works Department".
Who to call first about the sewer lateral
San Bernardino: official site(opens in a new tab)The documents this answer is built on
Who is responsible for which part
The whole run is yours and the joint at the main is not - the Department defines a private sewer lateral as running from the premises "up to, but not including, the connection to the City's or satellite service area's collection system". That includes the part in the street: "the portion of the Private Sewer Lateral that extends beyond the property line in the public right of way is also the owner's responsibility to maintain and repair." And a lateral left inoperative is not only your bill - it can be a nuisance under California Health and Safety Code section 5410, enforced by the City's Public Works Department.
- The property owner
- The full length from the building to the City's main, the part under the street included. The Department's definition makes a private sewer lateral "the privately owned and maintained wastewater collection pipe or conduit extending from the premises where the wastewater is generated (house sewer) up to, but not including, the connection to the City's or satellite service area's collection system", and states plainly that "maintenance and repair of the full length of the Private Sewer Lateral is the responsibility of the property owner". Rule and Regulation 7 adds that "all such maintenance and repairs shall be performed at the User's own expense, and they shall be liable for all damages, which may result from failure to do so".
What else is worth knowing
Sources
San Bernardino Municipal Water Department, Private Sewer LateralWhat the rules say
Most relevant if you are remodelling or adding a unit
No rule on file here is specific to remodelling or adding a unit; that does not mean none exists.
Also in force here
Your lateral runs past your property line here - "the portion of the Private Sewer Lateral that extends beyond the property line in the public right of way is also the owner's responsibility to maintain and repair" - so repairing it usually means digging in the street. The Department requires that "users shall comply with all requirements under the San Bernardino Municipal Code and applicable Rules and Regulations of the SBMWD prior to excavating anywhere within the public right-of-way for the purpose of maintaining and/or repairing the User's private sewer lateral". Leaving it broken has its own consequence: an inoperative lateral constituting a nuisance "as that term is defined in California Health and Safety Code section 5410" is subject to sections 5410 through 5416, "enforced by the City's Public Works Department".
What to do: Before booking a repair, ring the Municipal Water Department and ask one precise question: what do I need in place before anyone excavates in the public right-of-way to work on my lateral? The rule requires compliance with the Municipal Code and the Department's own regulations without listing them, so the answer has to come from the Department rather than from a plumber's assumption. Ask at the same time whether the work will reach the connection at the main, because the Department's definition ends your lateral "up to, but not including" that connection. And if you have been living with a lateral that backs up, treat it as a defect to fix rather than a nuisance to manage - here that word has a statutory meaning.
San Bernardino Municipal Water Department, Private Sewer LateralWhy this matters
Two things follow that are easy to miss. First, this is a rule about ordinary maintenance, not only about new connections, because the stretch most likely to fail is the one under the street and the Department says that stretch is yours. A contractor who opens the road without whatever the Municipal Code and the Department's rules require has done unpermitted work on your behalf. Second, the enforcement route is a state statute rather than a city abatement chapter. Most authorities that call a failed lateral a nuisance are pointing at their own code; San Bernardino points at the Health and Safety Code's sewage provisions and names the department that will apply them. Worth knowing that the Department's Rules and Regulations are not merely utility policy - under Municipal Code section 13.08.010 they "may be enforced as laws of the City".
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
- San Bernardino (municipality)
- Sewer service
How this compares to neighbouring cities
5 of the 8 nearest cities draw the line somewhere else. Each authority publishes only its own rule.
Nearby cities and further reading
Look up a specific address
This page describes what applies to properties in San Bernardino in general. To see which authorities serve one address, and what records exist for it, search for it.
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