Skip to main content
BelowGrid

Who pays for the sewer lateral in Santa Barbara, CA

Which part of the pipe is yours

  • Sewer lateral

    Yours all the way to the main, including the fitting where it joins

    Why, and what to do
your buildingproperty linesidewalkstreetmain
The thick length is yours.

If something’s wrong

If a repair needs a permit or an inspection

No rule on file here is specific to a repair; that does not mean none exists.

Buying or selling?

No rule on file here is specific to selling or buying; that does not mean none exists.

Planning work?

  • When you remodel · Inspection

    Santa Barbara Municipal Code section 14.46.040(B) requires the owner of residential property to have the building sewer lateral inspected "Prior to the issuance of a City building permit for a residential building addition or new improvements on the real property in excess of 400 square feet of habitable space", and "Prior to the issuance of a City building permit for two or more new plumbing fixtures attached to the Building Sewer Lateral upon the residential Property."

The remodelling rule in full, with its sources

Who to call first about the sewer lateral

BelowGrid has no first-call guidance on file from Santa Barbara about the sewer lateral.

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

Who is responsible for which part

In Santa Barbara the building sewer lateral is the owner's responsibility all the way to the public sewer, including the fitting that joins it to the main. Section 14.46.020(A) of the City's code provides that "An Owner is responsible, at the Owner's cost, for all preventative and corrective maintenance activities for the building sewer lateral serving the Owner's premises, up to and including the sewer lateral connection to the public sewer, including periodic video inspection, testing, cleaning, repair and replacement."

The property owner
The building sewer lateral, which section 14.46.010 defines as the pipes and facilities connecting a premises to a public sewer, "including that portion extending into the public street or right-of-way and the point of connection to the public sewer", and the sewer lateral connection: "That portion of the Building Sewer Lateral that connects to the public sewer main, commonly using a tee, wye, or saddle."

What else is worth knowing

Nothing splits the lateral between the City and the owner. The City's Sewer Lateral Inspection Program page says the same: "property owners are responsible for maintaining the sewer lateral, or sewer pipe, that connects their house or building to the public sewer main", and "The responsibility for maintenance also includes the connection fitting". One check before relying on this: Goleta Sanitary District lists the Santa Barbara Airport among the places it serves, providing "wastewater treatment and reclamation services to the City of Goleta, UCSB, Isla Vista, Santa Barbara Airport", so an owner at the airport should confirm with the District whose sewer rules apply.

Sources

Santa Barbara Municipal Code chapter 14.46, Building Sewer Inspections

Also quoted:

Checked

What is required

  • When you remodelInspection

    Santa Barbara Municipal Code section 14.46.040(B) requires the owner of residential property to have the building sewer lateral inspected "Prior to the issuance of a City building permit for a residential building addition or new improvements on the real property in excess of 400 square feet of habitable space", and "Prior to the issuance of a City building permit for two or more new plumbing fixtures attached to the Building Sewer Lateral upon the residential Property."

    What to do: Before applying for a building permit for an addition of more than 400 square feet of habitable space, or for two or more new plumbing fixtures, find the records of when the lateral was last replaced or inspected. If neither is recent enough for an exception, plan a video inspection by a City-certified plumber into the permit timeline.

    Why this matters

    The inspection is a closed-circuit television inspection by a licensed plumber certified by the City, and deficiencies it finds lead to a notice to repair or replace with a deadline. New plumbing fixtures count only where the number of fixtures goes up. No inspection is needed if the lateral was installed or replaced within 20 years of the building permit application, or if an inspection showing it in good repair was done in the three years before. Commercial property, common interest developments and multi-unit rental developments also have a 15-year inspection schedule under section 14.46.040(C).

    Current wording dates from · Checked

    Santa Barbara Municipal Code section 14.46.040(B) and (D), Mandatory Building Sewer Lateral Inspections

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
Santa Barbara (municipality)
Sewer service
  • Goleta Sanitary District
  • Which provider serves a particular address depends on where it is. Look up an address to resolve it.

How this compares to neighbouring cities

2 of the 4 nearest cities draw the line somewhere else. Each authority publishes only its own rule.

  • Santa Barbara(this page)
    the main, including the connection fitting on the main
  • Goletaabout 9 mi
    the main
  • Buelltonabout 31 mi
    the main, including the connection fitting on the main
  • Santa Mariaabout 55 mi
    the main, including the connection fitting on the main
  • Guadalupeabout 62 mi
    the main

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

Compare the rules city by city

Nearby cities and further reading

Look up a specific address

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

Search for an address