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Who pays for the sewer lateral in Woodside, 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:
    Town of Woodside
    What it covers:
    uncovering, connecting to, altering or disturbing a public sewer

    Woodside Municipal Code section 51.046(A) provides that "no unauthorized person shall uncover, make any connection with or openings into, nor shall they use, alter or disturb any public sewer or appurtenance thereof without first obtaining a written permit from the Town and paying all fees and connection charges required by this Code and the Town schedule of fees and charges". Section 51.046(G) adds that the work is inspected before it is closed: "all building sewers and the connection of such sewers to the Town wastewater facilities shall be inspected and tested prior to the time physical connection is made", with the applicant giving "at least 48 hours advance notice to the Town's engineering representative that the building sewer is ready for inspection".

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 Woodside about the sewer lateral.

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

Who is responsible for which part

A cleanout at the property line decides this one. The Town maintains the run between that cleanout and the public sewer where a conforming one has been installed; without it the owner has the whole length, building to main. Every building sewer in Woodside is required to have one.

Woodside
The run between the property-line cleanout and the public sewer, where such a cleanout exists. Section 51.046(E) provides that "if a cleanout meeting the requirements of division (D) of this section has been installed, the Town will maintain the building sewer between the cleanout and the connection with the public sewer". Will, not may: this is a duty the Town takes on, and the only thing conditioning it is the cleanout.
The property owner
Everything from the building to the cleanout at the property line, and everything beyond it where no conforming cleanout exists. Section 51.046(E) makes the property owner "solely responsible to maintain the building sewer and related wastewater facilities between the building and the connection with the public sewer", before the proviso narrows it. Section 51.046(B) adds that "all costs and expenses incident to the installation and connection of the building sewer shall be borne by the owner", and that the owner indemnifies the Town against loss occasioned by that installation.

What decides which applies

An approved cleanout at the property line, which section 51.046(D) requires of every building sewer: "every building sewer shall have an approved cleanout which shall be provided and installed at the property line of the premises in accordance with the applicable Plumbing Code and the Town standard specifications". Where one exists the Town's duty begins there. Where one does not - an older connection, or a cleanout that has been paved over or lost - section 51.046(E) leaves the property owner "solely responsible to maintain the building sewer and related wastewater facilities between the building and the connection with the public sewer", which is the whole length including the part under the road. So the first thing worth establishing before anybody quotes for the work is whether this property has a cleanout at its line and whether it can be reached. ALSO WORTH CONFIRMING WHO COLLECTS. West Bay Sanitary District serves areas of Woodside as well as the Town's own system, and section 51.046(E) is a promise about "the public sewer" the Town operates. The two authorities agree on the default - the District also puts the whole side sewer on the owner - and they differ on the proviso, because the District says it "may" clear a blockage beyond a conforming cleanout where the Town says it "will maintain". An address served by the District should be confirmed with the District.

Sources

Woodside Municipal Code section 51.046(E), Maintenance of building sewers

Also quoted:

Checked

What the rules say

Most relevant if you have received a notice from the city or district

No rule on file here is specific to a notice from the city or district; that does not mean none exists.

Also in force here

  • Before work on the pipePermit
    Who issues it:
    Town of Woodside
    What it covers:
    uncovering, connecting to, altering or disturbing a public sewer

    Woodside Municipal Code section 51.046(A) provides that "no unauthorized person shall uncover, make any connection with or openings into, nor shall they use, alter or disturb any public sewer or appurtenance thereof without first obtaining a written permit from the Town and paying all fees and connection charges required by this Code and the Town schedule of fees and charges". Section 51.046(G) adds that the work is inspected before it is closed: "all building sewers and the connection of such sewers to the Town wastewater facilities shall be inspected and tested prior to the time physical connection is made", with the applicant giving "at least 48 hours advance notice to the Town's engineering representative that the building sewer is ready for inspection".

    What to do: Ask the Town for the connection permit fee and any charges from the schedule before accepting a quotation, and check that the quotation allows for the 48 hours' notice and the inspection before backfill. If the property has no cleanout at the property line, ask what installing one would cost at the same time - section 51.046(E) makes that cleanout the difference between the Town maintaining the run to the main and you maintaining it.

    Why this matters

    The verbs reach a repair and not only a new connection: the section bars uncovering, altering or disturbing a public sewer as well as making a connection to one, so a Woodside owner opening an existing connection needs the permit as much as a new build does. Two of the conditions cost money and neither is a published figure. Section 51.046(B) puts "all costs and expenses incident to the installation and connection of the building sewer" on the owner and has the owner indemnify the Town "from any loss or damage that may directly or indirectly be occasioned by the installation". And the fees are set by "the Town schedule of fees and charges" rather than by the code, so the amount has to be asked for. The 48-hour notice is a schedule a contractor has to work to: the trench cannot be closed until the Town has looked at it.

    In force since · Checked

    Woodside Municipal Code section 51.046, Building sewers and connections

    Also quoted:

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
Woodside (municipality)
Sewer service

How this compares to neighbouring cities

5 of the 8 nearest cities draw the line somewhere else. Each authority publishes only its own rule.

  • Woodside(this page)
    the cleanout (conditions apply)
  • Redwood Cityabout 7 mi
    the cleanout
  • San Carlosabout 5 mi
    the cleanout (conditions apply; see that page)
  • Palo Altoabout 7 mi
    the cleanout (conditions apply; see that page)
  • Belmontabout 7 mi
    the main, including the connection fitting on the main
  • San Mateoabout 10 mi
    the main, including the connection fitting on the main
  • Hillsboroughabout 11 mi
    the main, including the connection fitting on the main
  • Burlingameabout 13 mi
    the main (conditions apply; see that page)
  • Half Moon Bayabout 10 mi
    the main (conditions apply; see that page)

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 cleanout; your water line stops being yours at the meter.

Who owns the water service line in Woodside

Nearby cities and further reading

Look up a specific address

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

Search for an address