Who pays for the sewer lateral in Walnut, 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
- Who issues it:
- City of Walnut. Section 5.12.010 reads the County ordinance's superintendent of streets as the County Road Commissioner or another person the City Council appoints, and the City's Engineering page says its contract City Engineer provides permits
- What it covers:
- the making of excavations in the public streets
Walnut Municipal Code section 5.12.010 adopts the County of Los Angeles highway permit ordinance, Ordinance No. 3597, as the City's highway permit ordinance, describing it as the ordinance which "regulates streets and highways and provides for issuance of permits and collection of fees and for the moving of buildings, the making of excavations in the public streets, the laying, constructing and repairing of curbs and sidewalks". Section 5.12.040 applies its deposit terms "in all instances where a highway or street permit is required in the City under any provisions of this chapter, including, but not confined to, moving permits, obstruction or excavation permits." The City's sewer ordinance, borrowed from the County, puts the house lateral under the street on the owner, so this is the City's permit chapter for digging in the street to reach it.
Who to call first about the sewer lateral
Walnut: official site(opens in a new tab)The documents this answer is built on
Who is responsible for which part
Walnut writes no sewer ownership rule of its own and borrows the County's. Section 5.04.010 of its municipal code adopts as the City's sanitary sewer ordinance "Division 2 of Title 20 of the Los Angeles County Code as contained in Ordinance No. 90-0067, as amended, and in full force and effect on May 24, 1990". Inside that adopted division, section 20.24.080 provides that all house laterals "shall be maintained by the owner of the property served in a safe and sanitary condition", and section 20.20.130 defines a house lateral as "that part of the sewer piping within the street or right-of-way which extends from the property or sewer right-of-way line to a construction with the main-line sewer". Los Angeles County Public Works, which looks after Walnut's sewers through its Consolidated Sewer Maintenance District, says the same of the whole district: "The private property owner is responsible for the entire length of the lateral".
- The property owner
- The whole lateral, from the building to the main, the run under the street included. Section 20.24.080 of the adopted County text assigns house laterals to "the owner of the property served", and section 20.20.130 places that lateral within the street or right-of-way, from the property line to the main-line sewer. County Public Works adds that the owner's length "includes that portion that may be located within the public right of way (under the asphalt and street landscaping)". The adopted text does not say who keeps the joint where the lateral meets the main.
What else is worth knowing
Sources
Walnut Municipal Code section 5.04.010, County sewer ordinance- Los Angeles County Code chapter 20.24
- Los Angeles County Code chapter 20.20, Definitions
- Los Angeles County Public Works, Sewer Maintenance - Customer Information
- Los Angeles County Public Works, Sewer Maintenance
- Los Angeles County Public Works, Sewer System Management Plan for the Consolidated and Marina Sewer Maintenance Districts, final 30 June 2025, approved by the Board of Supervisors on 29 July 2025
What the rules say
Most relevant if you are repairing or replacing the pipe
- Who issues it:
- City of Walnut. Section 5.12.010 reads the County ordinance's superintendent of streets as the County Road Commissioner or another person the City Council appoints, and the City's Engineering page says its contract City Engineer provides permits
- What it covers:
- the making of excavations in the public streets
Walnut Municipal Code section 5.12.010 adopts the County of Los Angeles highway permit ordinance, Ordinance No. 3597, as the City's highway permit ordinance, describing it as the ordinance which "regulates streets and highways and provides for issuance of permits and collection of fees and for the moving of buildings, the making of excavations in the public streets, the laying, constructing and repairing of curbs and sidewalks". Section 5.12.040 applies its deposit terms "in all instances where a highway or street permit is required in the City under any provisions of this chapter, including, but not confined to, moving permits, obstruction or excavation permits." The City's sewer ordinance, borrowed from the County, puts the house lateral under the street on the owner, so this is the City's permit chapter for digging in the street to reach it.
What to do: Before digging in the street to reach a house lateral, ask the City of Walnut for a street excavation permit and what deposit it will set for repairing the street surface.
Walnut Municipal Code section 5.12.010, County Street and Highway OrdinanceWhy this matters
A street permit costs a deposit as well as its fee. Unless the work is bonded construction with the City, section 5.12.040 has each applicant, "in addition to payment of the issuance fee", deposit "a sum of money in no event less than $10.00, which is twice the estimated cost to the nearest five dollars of repairing the surface of the highway which may be damaged or destroyed by the proposed excavation or construction".
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
- Walnut (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
2 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 Walnut in general. To see which authorities serve one address, and what records exist for it, search for it.
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