Who pays for the sewer lateral in San Jose, CA
Which part of the pipe is yours
Yours from the meter to your building
Why, and what to do
Who is responsible for which part
The property owner owns the whole lateral, both on their land and under the road - the City's own ordinance says so in passing, twice. But San Jose will clear a blockage in the run from your property line to the main, and if that run then needs repair the City repairs it "without charge to the owner". All of it depends on a wye cleanout sitting no more than twenty-four inches below the surface and not covered over.
- San Jose
- Not the pipe, but the work on part of it, and only on conditions. Under section 15.16.420 the department of public works will, on written application and once the main has been ruled out, "rod the lateral to remove blockage" in the run between the property line and the sewer main - and "if, after such rodding, the department of public works determines the said lateral requires repair, the department of public works shall repair the said lateral, without charge to the owner". The City claims no ownership of that run and describes no general duty to maintain it; what it describes is a repair it performs for free once the process has been followed.
- The property owner
- The lateral end to end, as the ordinance describes it. Section 15.16.420 refers to "that portion of the sewer lateral owned by the owner lying between the owner's property line and structures on his property", and to the City repairing "that portion of the lateral owned by the property owner" - the run out to the main. The owner is also responsible for the wye cleanout: where none exists the owner must have one installed at their own expense, and where one is buried too deep or covered over the owner must expose it and bring it to within twenty-four inches of the surface before the City will act.
- What else is worth knowing
- Find your wye cleanout and measure how deep it sits, because that is what decides whether San Jose does the work or you do. If it is no more than twenty-four inches below the surrounding surface and is not covered by dirt, concrete or asphalt, the City will rod the lateral between your property line and the main, and will repair that run without charge if the rodding shows it needs repair. If it is deeper than that or covered over, the City acts only after you have exposed it and raised it to within twenty-four inches, at your own cost. If there is no cleanout at all, you must have one installed - by a licensed or master plumber, or by the City for a published fee. None of this is automatic: it starts with a written application to the department of public works, and the repair needs a repair order form granting the City permission to work on your pipe.
What is required
The City of San José requires anyone excavating in a public street "for the purpose of repairing or cleaning any lateral sewer drain" to make and maintain a general deposit with the city against damage to the street - except that the "deposit shall not be required in the case of a duly licensed master plumber of the city", whose bond on file with the city suffices instead. Work in the street needs written permission from the department of public works first, the person who made the excavation must "maintain proper barricades and lights and assume full responsibility for such excavation", and the department resurfaces the trench and bills the cost to whoever authorised the work.
What to do: Find your wye cleanout and check it is no more than two feet down and not paved or planted over - that single fact decides whether the City does this or you do. Then make the written application to the department of public works before arranging any work of your own. If you do need a contractor for the street, ask whether they are a duly licensed master plumber of the city, because that removes the deposit, and ask the City what the deposit and any cleanout installation fee come to, since both are set in a council fee schedule rather than in the code.
City of San José Municipal Code, Title 15 chapter 15.16, Sewer Connections and Storm DrainageWhy this matters
Apply to the City before you hire anyone. Under section 15.16.420 the department of public works will clear a blockage in the run between your property line and the sewer main, and if that run then needs repair it "shall repair the said lateral, without charge to the owner" - so long as your wye cleanout is no more than twenty-four inches below the surface and is not covered by dirt, concrete or asphalt. Someone who hires a contractor and opens the road has paid for work the City may have done for nothing. And if you do need your own contractor, San Jose is the only authority on this site where the plumber's credential changes the price rather than merely qualifying them: a duly licensed master plumber of the city owes no street deposit at all.
Who governs and serves this area
- Jurisdiction
- San Jose (municipality)
What BelowGrid cannot say yet
- No assistance or grant programme has been reviewed for this jurisdiction yet.
Compare the rules city by city
Where the line falls here cannot be placed on the same scale as the towns next to it, so there is no strip to draw. The rules themselves still compare.
Compare the rules city by cityYour other pipe has a different answer
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. Look up both to see which applies to your property.
Who owns the water service line in San JoseLook 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.
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