Who pays for the sewer lateral in San Ramon, CA

Who is responsible for which part

Two sanitary districts collect San Ramon's sewage, each in its own part of the city, and both put the lateral on the property owner all the way to the district's main, under the street included. Central Contra Costa Sanitary District serves "portions of Martinez and San Ramon", and Dublin San Ramon Services District provides "wastewater collection and treatment to Dublin and south San Ramon". The City's own code says nothing about who maintains a lateral.

The property owner

The whole lateral, on both districts' own texts. Central San's Code of Laws section 9.10.040 makes the owner responsible for "constructing, repairing and maintaining the entire side sewer between the building and the public sewer (including both the lateral and building sewers, and the tap, saddle or wye connection fitting at the public main sewer)". Dublin San Ramon Services District's code, section 5.10.080, provides that "The customer owns all sewer facilities from the point of connection to the District's sewer main to the customer's building facilities, whether the pipelines are located within private property or a public road right-of-way", and its page for householders says "The property owner is responsible for the service pipeline between the house and the sewer main, which is usually located in the center of the street."

What decides which applies

Sources

Checked 3 Oct 2026 (4 weeks ago)

What is required

• Before work on the pipePermit

  Who issues it:

  City of San Ramon City Engineer

  What it covers:

  any encroachment within on over or under a right-of-way in the city including excavating it or placing a pipeline under it

  San Ramon Municipal Code section C6-4 provides that no person, "without first obtaining a written permit", shall "Encroach or make any encroachment within, on, over, or under the limits of any right-of-way" or "Place on, over or under a right-of-way any pipeline, conduit or other fixture"; section C6-1 counts "Excavating, filling, or disturbing the right-of-way" as an encroachment. The permit is issued by the City Engineer. Both sanitary districts that collect San Ramon's sewage put the lateral under the street on the owner, so this is the City permit an owner needs to dig to it, whichever district serves the address.

  What to do: First confirm which district serves the address - Central San or Dublin San Ramon Services District - and get that district's sewer permit or consent. Then apply to the San Ramon City Engineer for an encroachment permit with the district's consent attached, and pay the deposit the engineer sets. If the street was resurfaced recently, ask the Public Works Director about a moratorium waiver before planning a trench. Tell the engineer before excavation starts and when the work is finished. If a blocked lateral cannot wait, call the engineer's office (or the police out of hours) before digging and apply within ten calendar days.

  Why this matters▸▾

  The City permit comes after the district's consent, not instead of it. Section C6-12 has the applicant attach "the written order or consent to any work under the permit, required by law, of the public utilities commission, sanitary districts, water districts, or any other public body having jurisdiction", and "A permit shall not be issued until the order or consent, if required, is first obtained and evidence of it filed with the city engineer." Central San states that "When sewer work will occur outside the building, whether it is on property or off property, a Central San sewer permit is required". Dublin San Ramon Services District's code keeps the connection itself in the District's hands: no person other than one it authorises may "connect or disconnect the customer's sewer service line". Under section C6-20 the City Engineer fixes a cash deposit to cover restoring the right-of-way, released ninety days after the work is satisfactorily completed, and section C6-28 lets the engineer require liability insurance naming the City. Section C6-38 prefers boring to trenching: small pipes "shall be jacked, bored or driven, or otherwise forced underneath a paved surface", and the paved surface is not cut unless the permit allows it. Chapter VII adds a moratorium: under section C6-205 permission to excavate in a public street is not granted for five years after it is resurfaced or rebuilt, three years after a slurry seal, or where the pavement rates 80 or above on the condition index, unless the Public Works Director grants a waiver or an exception such as an emergency. In an emergency section C6-6 lets maintenance of a pipe lawfully under a street start first, provided the City Engineer's office is notified - the police department when City offices are closed - and the permit is applied for within ten calendar days.

  In force since 13 Apr 2023 · Checked 4 Oct 2026 (3 weeks ago)

  San Ramon Municipal Code Division C6, Public Works and Flood Control, Chapter I, Encroachments

  Also quoted:

  • San Ramon Municipal Code Division C6, Chapter VII, Pavement Cut Moratorium
  • Central Contra Costa Sanitary District, Sewer Repairs
  • Dublin San Ramon Services District Code section 5.10.080

Who governs and serves this area

Jurisdiction

San Ramon (municipality)

Sewer service

• Dublin San Ramon Services District
• Central Contra Costa Sanitary District
• Which provider serves a particular address depends on where it is. Look up an address to resolve it.