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Who pays for the sewer lateral in Woodland, CA

Which part of the pipe is yours

your buildingproperty linesidewalkstreetmain
The thick length is yours. A dashed marker means the position depends on your property — see below.

If something’s wrong

If a repair needs a permit or an inspection

  • Before work on the pipe · Permit

    Who issues it:
    City of Woodland - a written permit, issued to contractors, for any connection with, opening into or alteration of the public sewer, and an encroachment permit for work in the right-of-way
    What it covers:
    work that uncovers, connects with, opens into or alters the public sewer, and any excavation in the right-of-way

    Woodland Municipal Code section 13.12.040 provides that "No person shall uncover, make any connections with or opening into, use, alter, or disturb any public sewer or appurtenance thereof without first obtaining a written permit from the City", and section 13.12.050 that "Permits shall be issued only to contractors".

The repair rule in full, with its sources

Buying or selling?

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

Who to call first about the sewer lateral

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

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

Who is responsible for which part

Woodland keeps the street length of the lateral itself. Section 13.12.080 provides that "Building sewers shall be maintained by the owner of the property served thereby, but the City shall maintain that portion of the building sewer extending from the City sewer to the property line or curb line of the property served."

Woodland
The length of the lateral from the City sewer main to the property line or curb line of the property it serves.
The property owner
The building sewer from the building to the property line or curb line - the length on your own lot.

What decides which applies

The code draws the line at "the property line or curb line", which are not always the same place: where there is a planting strip or sidewalk between the two, the stretch under it could fall on either side. Ask the City's public works department which applies to your frontage before deciding whose a blockage there is. Everything on your lot is yours to maintain, and work that opens into the City sewer needs a City permit - section 13.12.040 bars anyone from making "any connections with or opening into" the public sewer without one.

Sources

Woodland Municipal Code section 13.12.080, Design, construction, and maintenance of sewers

Also quoted:

Checked

What the rules say

Most relevant if you are selling or buying

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

Also in force here

  • Before work on the pipePermit
    Who issues it:
    City of Woodland - a written permit, issued to contractors, for any connection with, opening into or alteration of the public sewer, and an encroachment permit for work in the right-of-way
    What it covers:
    work that uncovers, connects with, opens into or alters the public sewer, and any excavation in the right-of-way

    Woodland Municipal Code section 13.12.040 provides that "No person shall uncover, make any connections with or opening into, use, alter, or disturb any public sewer or appurtenance thereof without first obtaining a written permit from the City", and section 13.12.050 that "Permits shall be issued only to contractors".

    What to do: If a repair on your lot has to reach the City's part of the line, have a licensed contractor apply for the sewer permit, and report a blockage in the street length to the City instead of digging it yourself - that length is the City's to maintain.

    Why this matters

    The City maintains the street length, so most owner repairs stay on the lot - but a repair that reaches the connection, or a replacement that ties back in, is work on the public sewer, and the permit for it goes to a contractor, not to the owner. Work in the street itself also needs the City's encroachment permit under section 12.04.040.

    Checked

    Woodland Municipal Code section 13.12.040, Permit required

    Also quoted:

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
Woodland (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

All 3 of the nearest cities draw the line somewhere else. Each authority publishes only its own rule.

  • Woodland(this page)
    the property line (conditions apply)
  • West Sacramentoabout 13 mi
    the cleanout (conditions apply; see that page)
  • Sacramentoabout 17 mi
    the main (conditions apply; see that page)
  • Dixonabout 16 mi
    the main, including the connection fitting on the main

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

Compare the rules city by city

Your other pipe: the water service line

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. Your sewer lateral is yours to the property line; your water line stops being yours at the meter.

Who owns the water service line in Woodland

Nearby cities and further reading

Look up a specific address

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

Search for an address