Quoted rather than summarised. A paraphrase of who owns a pipe is how somebody ends up being told at a counter that it was theirs all along.
Alameda
The authority’s side: The lower lateral, stated without conditions - as practice, not as a promise written into the code. The City says that "the Property Owner handles the maintenance and replacement of the upper sewer lateral only - the portion on private property. The City handles the lower sewer lateral, which is the portion from the property line to the sewer main." Unlike West Valley Sanitation District, Cupertino Sanitary District and Los Altos, which each make their side of the bargain depend on an accessible property line cleanout, Alameda attaches no such condition to the split itself. The ordinance behind that page reads differently. Section 18-5.3 opens "Property owners own the entire sewer lateral and must maintain, repair and replace all sewer laterals associated with their parcels", and only then narrows the work it actually requires: owners "must perform any repair or replacement and perform any inspections necessary to ensure the upper sewer laterals meet the above standards". The City fills the gap those two sentences leave. Nothing in the code obliges it to, and nothing in the code gives it the pipe.
The owner’s side: The upper lateral, the portion on private property, to a standard the City publishes rather than leaves to inference - on its own page, and in stricter terms in the ordinance that page cites. The page says the pipe should be "free of any roots, grease deposits and other solids which may obstruct the flow"; "watertight and does not have any structural defects, cracks, breaks, openings, rat holes or missing portions"; "have a cleanout located at the property line or at the Sewer Main Easement", with all cleanouts "properly capped at all times"; and "free from any non-sewer connections to it (i.e. roof drain, area drain, sump pump)". Section 18-5.3 asks for two things the page leaves out, and both cost money. The cleanout has to be a "two way cleanout located at the property line or at the sewer main easement", so a single-direction cleanout does not satisfy the code. And the pipe must be free of defects "and the grade shall be uniform without sags or offsets" - a condition a lateral can fail while still draining perfectly well.
Albany
The authority’s side: The lower lateral, stated flatly and backed by the City's asset count. Albany says that "the City is responsible for the maintenance and repair of lower laterals, sewer mains and manholes", and describes its collection system as "approximately 33 miles of sewer mains, associated lower laterals, and 800 manholes". Nothing conditions this on a cleanout existing: where one does not, the City's portion simply starts at the curb line instead.
The owner’s side: The upper lateral. The City defines it as "the portion of the sewer lateral pipe that runs from the property to the curb cleanout (or curb line if a cleanout does not exist)", and states that "maintenance and repair of upper sewer laterals are the responsibility of the property owner". That reaches further from the house than in neighbouring Alameda, which divides at the property line rather than at the curb. The City also runs an Upper Sewer Lateral Compliance Program. Its terms are not set out here, so ask the City what it requires of you before you budget for work.
Alhambra
The owner’s side: The house connection sewer, from two feet outside the building to the public sewer. Section 16.04.180 closes the argument that the street length might be public: the public sewer "means the main sewer or trunk sewer, constructed in a street, highway, alley, place or right of way dedicated to public use", and "The term PUBLIC SEWER does not include a house connection sewer".
Anaheim
The owner’s side: The entire length, including the part under the road. The City's guide states that "unlike water lines, where the City owns the portion from the street to the meter, the entire portion of a sewer lateral is private property", and that "property owners are responsible for the proper operation and maintenance of the entire length of the lateral" - spelling out that this covers "even the portion that runs under the street". The lateral is defined there as the pipe carrying "wastewater from inside your home to the public sewer line in the street".
Apple Valley
The owner’s side: The sewer lateral from the building to the sewer main, at the owner's own expense - the length under the street included. The same section adds that "The Town does not maintain privately owned sewer laterals."
Arcadia
The owner’s side: The house connection sewer from just outside the building to the main, including the length under the street. Section 7410.8 defines it as "that part of the horizontal piping beginning twenty-four (24) inches from the exterior wall of the building or structure and extending to its connection with the public sewer".
Bakersfield
The owner’s side: The house connection sewer, the whole of it. Section 14.12.195 states that "all property owners shall maintain the house connection sewer from all points on their property to the public sewer", and that "it is the responsibility of all property owners to repair any blockage of or damage to the house connection sewer". The code defines a house connection as "the sewer connecting the building sewer or building waste drainage system to the public sewer for the purpose of conveying domestic wastewater".
Benicia
The authority’s side: The lateral sewer - the length within the street or easement between the property line and the main - where the three conditions in section 13.60.050 are met. Section 13.44.140 defines it as "the portion of a sewer lying within a public street or easement connecting a building sewer to the main sewer".
The owner’s side: The building sewer, from the building to the property line, and everything else on the lot. Section 13.44.050 defines the building sewer as running from the building's drainage outlet "to the property line or to a private sewer disposal system".
Berkeley
The authority’s side: The City states that it "maintains sewer infrastructure from the curb out to the main sewer line (lower sewer lateral and sewer mains)". That is the run beneath the road, and the City names no condition on it - no cleanout, no programme membership, no prior inspection.
The owner’s side: The City states that "property owners maintain the sewer lines from the curb to their property (upper/private sewer lateral)", and its Private Sewer Lateral programme page describes the same boundary from the other side: "the PSL typically runs from the sidewalk curb to the building". Sewage spills on private property remain the owner's responsibility, and the certificate Berkeley requires on sale or major remodel is a separate obligation that this does not affect.
Beverly Hills
The owner’s side: Everything from the building to the main, the connection itself included: the building sewer on the lot and the private sewer lateral under the street. Section 6-1-307 provides that "Private drainage systems shall be maintained by the owner of the private property in good operating condition", and that maintenance includes "periodic inspection of all components of the drainage system" and repair, cleaning and root removal as needed.
Buena Park
The owner’s side: Both named lengths, from the main to the building. The house sewer is "that portion of the horizontal piping extending from a point two feet from the foundation wall of the building to its connection with the connecting sewer", and the connecting sewer carries on from there, under the street, to the main. Section 13.04.210 assigns maintenance, repair and upkeep of both to the property owner or user.
Burbank
The owner’s side: All of it, from two feet outside the building wall to the public sewer. The City states that "all building sewers ... shall be maintained in good operating condition and in conformity with applicable law by the owner of the property which such facilities serve", and defines a building sewer as "that part of the sewer piping beginning two (2) feet from the exterior wall of a building structure or foundation and extending to a connection with the public sewer". Its definition of a public sewer expressly excludes "a portion of building sewer within the street or public right of way", so the run under the road is the owner's on the face of the code. One exception is worth knowing about: under section 8-1-312 the City "may reimburse a property owner for the cost to repair or replace that portion of a building sewer that has been crushed or moved out of alignment by the root system of a city parkway tree", if the owner shows the tree root was the cause, obtains the permits, and has the Director inspect before any damaged pipe is removed; the amount is capped by the Burbank Fee Resolution. In all other respects the same section keeps the obligation with the owner. Note also that repairing or tapping the portion in the street needs the City's approval first, even though the work is the owner's.
Carlsbad
The owner’s side: The whole lateral, from the main to the building, for maintenance, repair and replacement, and separately for cleaning and blockages. Section 13.04.010 defines the pipe - a "building or house sewer", also known as the lateral, is "a pipe or conduit carrying sanitary sewage and/or industrial wastes from a building to the public sewer or a common sewer" - and a "sewer main" is "any public sewer used to collect and convey sewage or industrial wastes to a publicly owned treatment works". The City keeps no part of that run - its own duty starts where yours stops and goes no further, because section 13.04.045(A) limits it to sewer mains "dedicated to and accepted by the city". Acceptance is doing real work in that sentence: a main that exists but has not been accepted is not covered by it either.
Carson
The owner’s side: The run under the street, named as such. Section 20.24.080 assigns house laterals to "the owner of the property served", and section 20.20.130 places that lateral in the street, from the property line to the main-line sewer. Section 20.20.220 defines the main-line sewer independently - one "in which changes in alignment and grade occur only at manholes", generally "eight inches or more in diameter" - so the owner's length ends where that pipe begins.
Central Contra Costa Sanitary District
The owner’s side: The District states that "while Central San is responsible for maintaining the public sewer system, each property owner is responsible for maintaining the private sewer lateral (also called a side sewer) that connects the plumbing in their home or business to Central San's sewer line" - so the owner's share runs the full length, not merely to the property line. The District's Sewer System Management Plan says it twice more, in its own voice: "in Central San's service area, the property owner is responsible for the entire sewer lateral pipe from the owner's structure to where it connects to the public sewer", and "ownership and maintenance of the building lateral to the point of connection with the sewer main is the property owner's responsibility". The District's Code of Laws says it more precisely than any of that. Section 9.10.040, headed Ownership, maintenance and connection of side sewers, opens "A side sewer is a private facility" and 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)". So the fitting where your pipe meets the main is yours, which the flyer never says.
Ceres
The owner’s side: The house connection from the building to its connection with the main - the length under the street included. Section 13.14.040 defines the lateral sewer as "the horizontal piping which extends from a building to the sewer main".
Chico
The owner’s side: All of it, at the owner's expense. The City states that "the owner of premises connected to the sewer system shall be responsible for maintaining the sewer lateral between the waste disposal system on such premises and the sewer main adjacent to the lot or parcel on which such premises are located in good order and condition and at owner's sole cost and expense", and elsewhere defines a sewer lateral as the run of sewer piping between a building's waste disposal system and a sewer main or trunkline. Both statements reach the main, so the run under the street is the owner's on the face of the code - and the City goes one step further in its own words, putting the far end beyond argument: the owner "owns and is responsible for maintaining the entire sewer lateral from the plumbing in the property owner's buildings, up to and including the connection to the sewer main in the street". It adds that "City crews are not allowed onto private property in order to clean or maintain privately owned sewer laterals". One thing worth knowing if you are the first property on a block to connect: an owner required to install a lateral within a public street or easement is entitled under section 15.36.236 to be reimbursed part of that cost out of the charges levied on later owners who connect to the same lateral, under a written agreement with the City, over a period of between fifteen and thirty years. That is repayment for building the pipe, not a share in keeping it up.
Chula Vista
The owner’s side: Both named pieces of the run: the building sewer across your land and the sewer lateral in the street. The code defines a building sewer as "a privately maintained sewer which extends across private property from a building to a sewer lateral, public sewer, or private sewer", and a sewer lateral as "a four-inch or six-inch diameter, privately maintained sewer constructed from its connection with a public sewer across public property to the boundary of such public property". The City's own pipe begins at the public sewer, which the code defines as "a sewer owned and operated by the City which is tributary to treatment or reclamation facilities operated or utilized by the City of Chula Vista".
Clovis
The owner’s side: All of it, in the City's own words and with the under-street portion spelled out. Section 6.4.06(b) states that sewer service laterals "shall be owned, maintained and repaired by the owner of the property being served, from and including the lateral's connection point at the City sewer main to the building or other point of use on the property", and that this "includes both the portion on private property and the portion located beneath the sidewalk and street or any other public right-of-way or easement areas such as alleys, trails and landscape areas". Section 6.4.02(d) states the same span from the other end: "the entire sewer service lateral from the building connection to and including the wye connection to the sewer main shall be the owner's responsibility to install, maintain and repair".
Concord
The authority’s side: The lateral sewer - "that portion of any building sewer within a street or public easement (normally that portion between the main sewer and the property line cleanout)". Section 13.05.100(g) provides that sewer connections and installations paid for by applicants, "(excepting property sewers)", and all facilities furnished by the city "shall, upon acceptance by the city, be and remain the property of the city, which shall have the right to repair, replace, and maintain the same".
The owner’s side: The property sewer - "that portion of the building sewer located on private property (normally that portion located between the property or sewer easement line cleanout and the point of connection from the building's plumbing system)". Section 13.05.100(k) provides that "each owner shall keep his property sewer in good order at his own expense and shall be held responsible for damage to any of the city's sewer system which results from use or operation of any appliances or facilities, including ... damage caused by steam, hot water, or chemicals".
Corona
The owner’s side: The house lateral and its appurtenances, whether it was there already or is built later - section 13.12.050 reaches laterals "now existing or hereafter constructed". The end of that run is the main line sanitary sewer dedicated to public use, which is what section 13.12.020 defines a public sewer to be, and the same section describes the City's own system as the pipelines and facilities "constructed, maintained and operated by the city or constructed by others but owned by the city primarily for the collection of sewage".
Costa Mesa
The owner’s side: The whole run, the street portion included, and the connection at the main with it. Section 6.02.020 requires the owner to maintain the lateral connecting to the District's sewer main "including any portions that may lie within the public right of way or Costa Mesa Sanitary District easement", kept "in a safe, sanitary and unobstructed condition", with the devices and safeguards appurtenant to it "in good working order". The District's own side is stated separately and narrowly at section 6.02.010: "unless provided otherwise by contract or other arrangement, District shall maintain those sewer mains and appurtenances that it owns".
Cucamonga Valley Water District
The authority’s side: The collection system and its mains, and no part of your lateral. The District's 2025 Sewer System Management Plan states that "CVWD owns, operates, and maintains a comprehensive sanitary sewer collection system that provides wastewater conveyance services to residential, commercial, industrial, and institutional customers throughout its service area", covering a system that "serves a population of 213,375 in a 46.8 square mile service area". The same plan defines the private lateral as everything up to that system, so no length of the lateral itself is stated to be the District's.
The owner’s side: The lateral, and the District's plan carries that further than its help page does. The 2025 Sewer System Management Plan defines a private sewer lateral as "the sewer pipeline from the plumbing of a building to a CVWD collection line, including portions that extend across public rights-of-way and the saddle, wye or other physical connection to the collection line", states that "private sewer laterals are privately owned and maintained", and that "the property owner is fully responsible for installation, maintenance and repair of the private sewer lateral(s)". The customer FAQ states the nearer half of the same duty - "sewer system customers are responsible for their sewer line from their property line to the house, which includes the sewer 'clean out' and 'back-water valve.'" - and adds that "the back-water valve should be inspected and maintained periodically by a local plumbing service to ensure it is functioning properly."
Daly City
The owner’s side: Everything, both halves. The District's own Sewer System Management Plan states that it "does not own and is not responsible for maintaining neither the lower nor upper portions of sewer laterals tributary to its system" - the double negative is the District's - and names District Code section 1.16.080, Maintenance of Side Sewers, as the provision behind it. That leaves the run from the building to the District's main with the property owner, including the length beneath the street.
Delano
The owner’s side: The building sewer from the premises to the public sewer - the whole run, including the length under the street. The City can make you repair it: section 13.28.150 provides that where an existing building sewer is found in an insanitary condition it shall be ordered "repaired, modified or replaced", and that "It shall be the obligation of the owner of the premises served to comply with such order at the owner's expense."
Downey
The authority’s side: The mains and the structures in them. Section 7240 gives the Director of Public Works the City's public sewer facilities "including main line sewers, pumping stations, manholes, and terminal cleanouts", and hands trunk sewers to Los Angeles County Sanitation District No. 2 where they are under that District's jurisdiction. Nothing in the section reaches a house lateral, and the next section says who does.
The owner’s side: Every house lateral, including its run under the street. Section 7240.2 puts house laterals "now existing or hereafter constructed" on "the owner of the property served", and requires the devices and safeguards the chapter calls for to be "maintained in good working order". Section 7214.14 places that lateral in the street or right-of-way, from the property line to the connection with the main line sewer, so the owner's run ends where the City's main begins.
Dublin San Ramon Services District
The owner’s side: Everything from the house to the main. The District states that "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", and that DSRSD "is responsible for the sewer main that carries the wastewater from individual residences to the plant for treatment". It puts the same point in plainer terms first, saying that many owners do not realise they own the pipes at all - the District calls them "private service lines or laterals" - and that "if service pipelines clog, leak or break, it is the property owner's responsibility to contact a plumber and pay for repairs".
East Bay Regional Private Sewer Lateral Program
The owner’s side: The programme states that "the property owner is responsible for the entire PSL from their home to the public sewer main (upper and lower lateral), with the exception of Alameda and Albany where the responsibility ends at the property line or curbside cleanout (i.e. upper lateral only)", and describes the same span again as "the entire lateral from the building cleanout to the public sewer main under the street". So in Oakland, Emeryville and Piedmont the run beneath the road is the owner's. In Alameda and Albany the programme reaches the upper lateral only. Both of those cities have answered the rest themselves and the answer is in your favour - see below.
Eastern Municipal Water District
The authority’s side: Repairs to the lower lateral - the stretch in the public right-of-way - at its own expense. Section 6.202(b)(2) provides that "repair of Lower Sewer Laterals shall be performed by the District at the District's expense, except when, as determined by District, the repairs of Lower Sewer Laterals were required as a result of root intrusion and/or debris from Customer's property, or other repairs needed that were contributed to by the Customer". The District does not maintain that length and does not own it.
The owner’s side: The whole run as property, and the upkeep of all of it. Section 6.202(a) makes the point plainly: "all completed Sewer Service Laterals shall remain the property of the Customer." The code defines that lateral as "a privately-owned pipe and appurtenances extending from the sewer pipeline to a private sewer system at the boundary line of Customer's property or District's easement", and the lower portion "includes the connection to the Sewer Pipeline". Maintenance of the lower lateral is the customer's under section 6.202(b)(1), and the upper lateral is theirs entirely - section 6.202(b)(3) puts maintenance and repair of Upper Sewer Laterals and private sewer systems on the customer, requiring that "the Customer shall make every effort to keep foreign matter from obstructing sewage flow from the Private Sewer System to the Sewer Pipeline" and that "the removal of tree roots, grease, and/or any other foreign matter is the responsibility of the Customer".
El Cerrito
The owner’s side: All of it. The City states that under "Stege Sanitary District Ordinance Code Chapter 4, Section 4.4.7, it shall be the responsibility of the property owner to perform all maintenance, repairs and replacement necessary to maintain the Lateral", and draws the conclusion explicitly: "neither the City of El Cerrito, nor the Stege Sanitary District is responsible for clogs or damages to your sewer lateral or the cost of repairs, even if the roots in your sewer lateral originate from a City street tree". The City recommends knowing where the lateral runs, having a cleanout installed if there is none, and inspecting by video "before there are symptoms of trouble". How far that reaches is set by the District's own code, which El Cerrito sits inside: a Lateral is "a sewer that conveys the Wastewater of a Discharger from a Building Sewer to a Main Sewer, including the connection to the Main Sewer", and the Lower Lateral is "the portion of the Lateral in the public right of way up to the publicly owned Main Sewer". So the fitting at the main is inside your half, which is the most expensive part of it and the part most often left unsaid.
Elk Grove
The authority’s side: The lower lateral - the length nearest the main - and it owns that length as well as maintaining it. The District's ordinance provides that where it owns the main line it "is responsible for clearing stoppages and for inspecting, maintaining, and repairing the lower lateral, SacSewer cleanouts, manholes and main line", and adds the converse: where it does not own the main or manhole, it "has no responsibility for clearing stoppages or for inspecting, maintaining, or repairing the main line, cleanouts, or lower laterals".
The owner’s side: The upper lateral, from the cleanout back to the building. The District requires the owner to keep it "free from pipe-blocking substances that may impede the flow", its pipes and joints "tight, sound, and free from structural defects (such as cracks, breaks, and missing portions)", and no stormwater drains connected to it. Section 7.9 adds a duty that arrives with the work rather than with the property: the user is responsible for constructing a SacSewer cleanout, and for its cost, on "the replacement of more than 10 feet of the existing upper lateral by the user or parcel owner".
Emeryville
The owner’s side: Everything from two feet outside the building to the public sewer, including the connection itself, and to a standard the code sets out rather than leaves to inference. The lateral must be "kept free from roots, grease deposits, and other solids that may impede the flow"; "all joints shall be tight and all pipes shall be sound to prevent exfiltration by waste or infiltration by groundwater or stormwater"; the pipe must be "free of any structural defects, cracks, breaks, or missing portions and the grade shall be uniform without sags or offsets"; no "area drains, foundation drains, roof leaders, sump pumps or other direct connections" may feed it; and cleanouts must be capped at all times except during maintenance. One item is an installation you may not yet have: the owner is "responsible for the installation of a two (2) way cleanout" between the upper and lower lateral, in a position the Director approves and built to the City's Standard Details.
Escondido
The owner’s side: The whole lateral, pavement and road included. The City states that "it is the property owner's responsibility to maintain and repair their own sewer lateral from the house up to the point of connection with the public sanitary sewer main", and that this "includes both the portion on private property and the portion located beneath the sidewalk and street up to the point where the lateral connects to the public main". Its Wastewater Collections page says the same: owners are "responsible for all maintenance and repair of their lateral ... which also includes the portion under the sidewalk and street".
Folsom
The authority’s side: The lower lateral - the length from the cleanout near the property line to the main, including the connection itself. Section 13.08.010 defines it as "the portion of the city-owned lateral located between the sanitary sewer system main, and either the property line, sewer cleanout, curb line, or other jurisdictional locations", and adds that "The lower lateral includes the connection to the sewer main".
The owner’s side: The upper lateral, from the cleanout to the building, and it has to be kept to a stated standard. Section 13.08.160 requires each owner, "at the property owner's expense", to "inspect, maintain in good working order, repair and replace, as necessary, the private sewer lateral", which must be "free of displaced joints, open joints, roots, cracks, leaks".
Fontana
The authority’s side: The length in the street, from the main to your property line. Section 23-256 provides that a stub-out and the house connection sewer "shall be maintained and repaired by the city from the point of connection with the sewer main line to the property line closest to the sewer main". The code defines that length as "the portion of a sewer lying within a public street connecting a building sewer to the main sewer".
The owner’s side: Everything from the building to the property line. The code defines a building sewer as "that portion of any sewer beginning at the plumbing or drainage outlet of any building and running to the property line or to an OWTS", and section 23-253 puts the cleanout on the join: "cleanouts in building sewers shall be provided where the building sewer joins the house connection sewer". The owner also carries the City's half in two circumstances - where the damage results from "the negligent or intentional acts of the property owner, its tenants, lessees, subcontractors, agents, or employees", and by indemnity for claims arising out of the City's own maintenance of it.
Fountain Valley
The owner’s side: The lateral from the building to the main, the junction included. Section 14.36.065 defines sewer laterals as "that connecting sewer line running from sewer main to the private property line and extending to the structure to which it connects", and the sewer main as one that "does not include sewer laterals".
Fresno
The owner’s side: All of it, in the City's own words. "It is the property owner's responsibility to maintain and repair their own sewer lateral from the house up to the point of connection with the public sanitary sewer main. This includes both the portion on private property and the portion located beneath the sidewalk and street up to the point where the lateral connects to the public main." Where a sewer overflow is reported, City staff attend and "determine if the blockage is a sewer lateral issue or a sanitary sewer system main line issue"; if it is the lateral, "the property owner is responsible for repairs and should call a certified plumber to take care of the problem".
Fullerton
The authority’s side: Nothing as a duty, and something as a discretion - which is the distinction that matters here. Section 12.08.031(B) provides that "the city may perform maintenance, repair and upkeep of that portion of a lateral sewer located within the public right-of-way in a given situation if the Director of Public Works determines that to do so would mitigate city liability or constitute an acceptable level of service". That is a power the City may exercise, decided case by case on the City's own interest, not a service an owner can rely on or demand.
The owner’s side: The lateral from the building to the main, "with regard to maintenance, repair and upkeep", under section 12.08.031(A). Section 12.08.030 adds the cost side for a new one: "the costs of installing lateral sewers and connecting to the city sewer system shall be borne by the property owner or developer".
Garden Grove
The owner’s side: The run from the house to the public sewer, on the District's own statement of it. Section 4.10.120 assigns "all residential connections and appurtenances thereto" to the owner of the property served, and the District's sewers page fixes the two ends: "from the house to the public sewer system". The City's own Sewer System Management Plan describes the same division from the operating side - "sewer laterals are not currently inspected or maintained since they are the responsibility of the property owner".
Gardena
The owner’s side: All of it, and the code is unusually explicit about the half that costs. Section 13.04.130 states that "all house laterals, industrial connection sewers and appurtenances thereto now existing or hereafter constructed shall be maintained by the owner of the property served in a safe and sanitary condition" - and section 13.04.030 defines a house lateral as "that part of the horizontal piping beginning at the property line or sewer right-of-way line and extending to its connection with the main line sewer". So the run beneath the public street, including the connection at the main, is the owner's by definition rather than by inference.
Glendale
The owner’s side: The house connection, fitting included. Section 13.40.040 states that "all house connections, including the wye or saddle at the sewer main, shall be maintained at the expense of the property owner", and section 13.40.030 defines a house connection as "that part of any sewer extending from the sewer main in a public street or right-of-way to private property for the exclusive use of such property". So the length beneath the street and the joint where it meets the main are both the owner's to keep up.
Hanford
The owner’s side: The lateral from the building to the street sewer main, the public right-of-way portion included. Ownership follows the same line: section 13.08.160 provides that "Laterals on private property belong to the property owner", and that all sewers in public streets become the City's "except the lateral serving an individual property".
Hayward
The owner’s side: The whole lateral, connection included. The City states that "the sewer customer is responsible for maintaining and repairing private sewer laterals, which is the portion of the sewer that is on private property and the portion under the sidewalk and the street up to and including where the lateral connects to the public system". The code says it more slowly: section 11-3.360 provides that "maintenance of the building sewer shall be the responsibility of the owner of the property served", and section 11-3.000 defines a house or building sewer as "the extension from the house drain to the public sewer or other place of disposal".
Huntington Beach
The authority’s side: From its main out to your property line, and it pays. Huntington Beach Municipal Code section 14.54.035 provides that "repair and maintenance of all sewer mains dedicated to the City shall be the responsibility of the City", and that "City will pay the cost of repair and maintenance of all lateral lines from the City-owned sewer main through the public right-of-way to the private property line". The City's own Sewer System Management Plan says the same in its own words: "the City is responsible for the maintenance and repair of the lower portion of the service laterals located within the City public right-of-way from the property line to the connection at the City's sewer main", and records that "the City took ownership of the portion of the sewer service laterals within the public right-of-way in 2008".
The owner’s side: The part on your own land. Section 14.54.035(C) provides that "the owner is responsible for all costs of repair and maintenance of all lateral lines on private property not within the public right-of-way", and section 14.54.035(B) states the general rule it carves out of: "except as provided herein, repair and maintenance of all privately-owned sewer mains and all lateral lines, equipment and appurtenances connected to the City sewer mains shall be the responsibility of the owner/user". Chapter 14.36 adds what you pay for when work is done: section 14.36.030(A) makes the applicant "responsible for the cost of constructing, maintaining, or replacing any part of a sewer system on private property, required by the Director, from the sewer main line to and including any on-site structure", with the work done by a licensed contractor under an encroachment permit.
Irvine Ranch Water District
The authority’s side: For a house, the sewer pipelines, which on the District's own division of the system includes the run from the property line to the main. In a condominium or townhome development the District's share is narrower and starts further out - its Rules take the onsite sewer mains "up to the main line cleanout or last manhole" and leave every lateral above that to the owner. IRWD's page splits the system into two columns; under what it owns and maintains it lists "sewer pipelines, manholes, pump stations, and treatment facilities", and under what property owners are responsible for it stops the owner's share at the upper lateral, running "to the edge of its property line". No cleanout requirement, prior inspection or programme membership is attached to that.
The owner’s side: In a house, the upper lateral and the plumbing inside the building, and nothing beyond the property line. The District lists what "property owners are responsible for" as "sewer pipes within a building and upper sewer laterals that lead from a building to the edge of its property line". In a condominium complex or townhome development it is more: section 4.15.3 of the District's Rules provides that "all laterals upstream of the main line are the responsibility of the applicant, owner or customer to maintain, repair, or reconstruct".
La Habra
The owner’s side: Both named lengths and the junction with the main. Section 13.04.010 defines the connecting sewer as "that portion of the sewer system which extends from the main sewer to the curb", and the house sewer as the piping "from a point two feet from the foundation wall of the building to its connection with the connecting sewer". Section 13.10.030 adds cleaning to the owner's list: "The property owner or agent is responsible for all routine and emergency cleaning of the connecting sewer and house sewer lines."
Lancaster
The owner’s side: The whole house lateral, including the fitting where it meets the main. Section 13.07.060 provides that "each property owner is responsible for the installation, repair and maintenance of the entire house lateral up to and including the wye or tee in the city's main line", and that each owner "shall keep his/her house lateral in good working order at his/her own expense". The code 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 connection with the main-line sewer" - so the length beneath the road is the owner's, and the City's own duty runs only to "any main line public sewer in a dedicated right-of-way". The owner is also "responsible for damage to any of the city's property comprising any part of the public sewer system which results from the owner's use, repair or maintenance" of it.
Larkspur
The owner’s side: The whole lateral, on both districts' own ordinances. Ross Valley Sanitary District states that private sewer laterals "shall be owned, maintained and repaired by the Owner(s) of the property served", covering the entire lateral "from the building connection to and including the 'wye' connection or other-tie-in to the Sewer Main". Sanitary District No. 2 of Marin County defines both halves as parts of one "private sewer lateral", with the lower lateral running to the sewer main and including its connection to it. Ross Valley adds that the owner's responsibility "may extend to where the lateral crosses onto another property, regardless of whether a recorded easement exists".
Lawndale
The owner’s side: The run under the street, named as such. Section 20.24.080 assigns house laterals to "the owner of the property served", and section 20.20.130 defines a house lateral as the piping within the street or right-of-way from the property line to the connection with the main-line sewer. What the lateral runs to is defined in its own right: section 20.20.220 makes a "main-line sewer" one "in which changes in alignment and grade occur only at manholes", adding that such sewers "are generally eight inches or more in diameter". So the owner's length ends where that pipe begins, and nothing between the property line and it is carved back to the City. Note which definition is doing the work here. Lawndale does not take the county's meaning of "public sewer" - section 13.04.020 replaces it with "all sanitary sewers and appurtenances thereto lying within streets or easements dedicated to the city, which are under the sole jurisdiction of the city" - and the boundary is unaffected either way, because a house lateral ends at the main-line sewer rather than at whatever "public sewer" is taken to cover.
Long Beach
The authority’s side: The house connection, which section 15.04 defines as "that portion of a sewer lateral in the street which extends from the wye or tee branch or saddle of a main line sewer or other point of connection with a main line sewer to the property line". Section 15.20.060 states that "the above provisions notwithstanding, the Water Department shall maintain the house connection extending from the property line to the main line sewer within the public right-of-way". No condition is attached - no cleanout, no prior inspection, no programme membership.
The owner’s side: The building sewer, which section 15.04 defines as "that portion of a sewer lateral beginning two feet (2') from the exterior wall of a building or foundation of a building and extending to its connection with the house connection at the property line". Section 15.20.060 requires that it "shall be maintained by the owner of the property in a safe and sanitary condition".
Los Altos
The authority’s side: The reconstruction and repair of the street portion, conditionally, and no part of the cleaning. The code states that "the city shall be responsible for the reconstruction and repair of all lateral sewers subject to compliance with Section 10.04.250 of this article" - and 10.04.250 is the cleanout section, which requires a cleanout where the building sewer joins the lateral sewer, maintained watertight, under an approved box set flush with the ground. On its website the City puts the same split without the condition: it "is responsible for re-construction from the first joint after the property line to the main sewer line", and "is not responsible for any plumbing bills except when a street lateral requires reconstruction or repair". On a defect found during a blockage, "the City will repair it if the defect is beyond the first full section of pipe past the cleanout". Clearing a blockage is different: crews "will clear the stoppage as a courtesy if the blockage is between the property line cleanout (if accessible) and the main sewer line" - the City's own word is courtesy, so this is not a maintenance duty and should not be relied on as one.
The owner’s side: The cleaning and upkeep of all of it, and the reconstruction of the house side. The City states that "Los Altos residents are responsible for the maintenance of sewer laterals from their home to the main sewer line, which is typically in the street", and that the owner "is responsible for cleaning and maintaining the street and house lateral all the way to the main sewer, except for reconstruction and repair" - with reconstruction of the length "from the first joint after the property line to the home" also the owner's. Where a contractor cannot clear a stoppage because of a defect, the owner is responsible for the repair unless the defect lies beyond the first full section of pipe past the cleanout.
Los Angeles
The owner’s side: The whole of it. LA Sanitation and Environment states that "most property owners do not know that they are responsible for the maintenance and repair of their entire private sewer lateral, aka house sewer connection", and the Los Angeles Municipal Code defines a "house connection sewer" as "any sewer pipe line, or portion thereof, constructed in a street, alley, walk or other public place or in a sewer easement granted to the City and connecting ... any lot or part of a lot with any public sewer" - so the length under the road is inside the term the City used. Repairing one needs a City permit and must meet the code's pipe and excavation requirements even though the work is the owner's. Note that the allocation comes from the operating authority's own page rather than from the ordinance: chapter VI article 4 regulates house connection sewers in detail and does not state who must keep one in good order.
Lynwood
The owner’s side: The run from the building to the connection with the public sewer, owned as well as maintained. Section 14-15.1 carries the same sentence inside its definition of a sewer lateral and describes the pipe itself as "a building sewer as defined in the latest edition of the California Plumbing Code", so the extent comes from the plumbing code's meaning rather than from a measurement in the ordinance.
Merced
The owner’s side: All of it. The City states that "each user shall be responsible for the construction, maintenance and repair of his house and/or building sewer line", and that a user "shall be liable for damages which may result to the sewage system from his failure to keep his house or building sewer line in good order". The code defines a "building sewer" as "a sewer conveying wastewater from the plumbing of a structure to a public sewer", and a "sewer lateral" as "a building sewer", so the duty reaches the City's main and the pipe under the road is the owner's on the face of the code. If an owner does not repair a broken lateral within five days of notice, the director may have the work done "at the expense of the owner, agent or occupant". And the code puts it as ownership as well, in a section headed exactly that. Section 15.08.070, "Ownership of sewer line extensions", provides that "house and building sewer lines, including their connection to subtrunk sewers or sewer laterals, shall not be considered city property or become a part of the city sewer system, and their maintenance and repair shall not be the responsibility of the city". Note the four words in the middle: the CONNECTION is named, so the joint where your pipe meets the City's is on your side of the line.
Mill Valley
The owner’s side: The City states that "the owner of a sewer lateral is responsible for maintaining their sewer lateral all the way to the City main, including the portion within the right-of-way", and that "this includes the fitting that branches the lateral off the main". Its Sewer System Management Plan instructs first responders that "response and repair of private laterals is not the City's responsibility". The City maintains its own mains, two pump stations and its forcemain, and no part of the lateral. The section the City is citing is Municipal Code 17.04.270, and it goes further than the help page does: under the heading "Ownership, Maintenance and Repair of Private Sewer Laterals", it provides that "private sewer laterals shall be owned, maintained and repaired by the owner of the property, which the lateral serves", and that the whole of it, from the building connection out to and including the wye at the sewer main, "shall fall within the owner's responsibility". So the pipe is yours by title as well as by upkeep.
Millbrae
The authority’s side: The City states it "shall only maintain the sanitary sewer lateral from the cleanout wye, inclusive of the cleanout wye, to the city sanitary sewer main" where a cleanout is provided "either in the sidewalk, or within two and one-half feet of the face of curb or edge of pavement where there is no sidewalk, or in a side or rear yard within two and one-half feet of the city main". Where the cleanout sits outside those areas, the City states that "the property owner is responsible for maintaining the sanitary sewer lateral all the way to the city sanitary sewer main, including the wye connection at the main".
The owner’s side: As a general rule the whole of it: the City states the owner "at his/her expense shall maintain all sanitary sewer laterals, including, but not limited to, the building drain, sanitary sewer lateral to the cleanout wye connection or to the city sanitary sewer main as provided below, building cleanout, sidewalk cleanout frame and cover, backflow protection and backflow relief equipment". Whether the run from the cleanout to the main falls to the City turns on where the cleanout is - within two and a half feet of the curb, the edge of the pavement, or the main.
Milpitas
The authority’s side: The run in the public street, by title. The City provides that it "will not provide sewer service by means of any trunk sewer, main sewer or house lateral to which it does not have full and complete title at the time of rendering such service", and its code defines a "house lateral" as "that portion of the Side Sewer within a public street". Note what the maintenance article does and does not say: it gives the City "trunk sewers and main sewers ... when located in City streets or easements" and never names the house lateral, so the street portion is stated to be the City's property without the code stating in terms who repairs it. An owner facing a failure in the street should put that to Public Works rather than assume either answer.
The owner’s side: Everything on private property, and no further. The City states that "the user owns the entire house sewer and shall be responsible for maintaining, repairing, replacing, and clearing all stoppages and maintaining flow in the house sewer", including "clearing stoppages in the entire length of the house sewer" and keeping it "free from roots, grease deposits, and other solids". A "house sewer" is defined as "that portion of the Side Sewer within private property", the side sewer being "the total length of sewer from the Main Sewer to the foundation of the structure". The seam is marked on the ground: the user "shall have a street cleanout located at the property line, between the house sewer and the house lateral". A separate provision makes an approved sewage backflow protective device the owner's "at his sole cost and expense" where the lowest floor sits less than a foot above the nearest upstream manhole or relief structure.
Modesto
The owner’s side: The house sewer line, which reaches the main but not the fitting at it. Section 5-6.309(b) states that "each user shall be responsible for the construction, maintenance and repair of his or her house sewer line", and the City's Cost-Share packet defines that line as "the pipe that begins at the house/building plumbing system and extends to, but does not include, the connection at the City sewer main". The same subsection adds that "each user shall be liable for damages which may result to the sewage system from his or her failure to keep his or her house sewer line in good order".
Monrovia
The owner’s side: The lateral from the building to the main, the junction included. The same section defines the sewer lateral as the connecting line running from the Y connection at the main "to the private property line and extending to the structure to which it connects", and says the sewer main "shall not include sewer laterals".
Morgan Hill
The owner’s side: The City states that "the private sewer laterals are the property of the property owner and are not part of the public sewer system", and that "nothing in this chapter shall be interpreted as changing the private nature of the private sewer laterals". Its definition runs that lateral "from the plumbing of a building to a public sewer collection line, including portions that extend across public rights-of-way and the Saddle, wye or other physical connection to the collection line" - so the run beneath the street and the fitting at the city's main are both the owner's. The owner must, at their own expense, "inspect, maintain in good working order, repair and replace, as necessary" that lateral. The City says the same in its sewer system management plan, twice and without hedging: "the property owner is fully responsible for installation, maintenance, and repair of the parcel private sewer lateral(s)", and "the City has no responsibility for the installation, maintenance, operation, repair or replacement of private sewer laterals (PSL) connected to the City mains".
Mountain View
The owner’s side: Everything from the building to the City's main. Section 35.29 defines a sewer lateral as "the sewer piping used to convey sewage from a building or facility on a parcel (private or public property) to the point of connection to the city-owned sewer main", and provides that "each sewer lateral is owned by and is the responsibility of the entity that owns the property or facility from which that sewer lateral conveys sewage or wastewater". The same section says of a building sewer that "the property owner is responsible for maintenance and repair" of it. Section 35.10 states the duty in money: owners "shall keep their service pipes, stopcocks, service lines, sewer lateral, plumbing, and all apparatus connected therewith, in good repair at their own expense".
National City
The owner’s side: The building connection line from the house to the main, the street length included, and the first call on any blockage. Section 14.06.160 provides that "The owner or occupant is responsible for calling a licensed private plumbing contractor if a stoppage occurs", and that "City crews cannot respond to requests for service unless the owner or occupant has first obtained the service of a licensed plumber."
Norwalk
The owner’s side: The run under the street, named as such. Section 20.24.080 assigns house laterals to "the owner of the property served", and section 20.20.130 places that lateral in the street, from the property line to the main-line sewer. Section 20.20.220 defines the main-line sewer independently - one "in which changes in alignment and grade occur only at manholes", generally "eight inches or more in diameter" - so the owner's length ends where that pipe begins.
Oceanside
The owner’s side: The lateral, including the run in the street. The City states that "private sewer lines (from the street to your house) are the responsibility of the property owner", and section 29.12 provides that "the costs for installation, maintenance, replacement, and permitting of sewer house connections (sewer service lateral) as defined in section 29.1, shall be the responsibility of the property owner" - a house connection being defined as "the service pipes from the private property line to the public sewer main or lateral in a public street, alley or easement".
Orange
The authority’s side: The mains, and the code says so in the same section that assigns the lateral: "it shall be the responsibility of the City to keep the sewer mains free and clear for the even flow of sewage". Section 13.56.010 defines the sewer main as "the main line sewer, used as a trunk line or major channel of passage for transporting sewage and waste, constructed in a street, highway, alley, place or right-of-way dedicated to public use", and adds that "it shall not include sewer laterals".
The owner’s side: The whole lateral, junction included. Section 13.56.050 requires it kept "in a safe and sanitary condition so that there is no seepage of waste at any point up to and including the junction of the sewer lateral and the sewer main and so that passage of waste through the lateral to the sewer main is free from stoppage and obstruction", with the devices and safeguards the chapter requires "maintained in good working order".
Oxnard
The owner’s side: The lateral, the wye and the saddle. Section 19-11 states that "all connections, including the lateral, wye or saddle at the city's sewer, shall be maintained at the expense of the property owner of which the connection originates", and the City's Private Sewer Lateral flyer says the same thing in a homeowner's words: "it is the property owner's responsibility to maintain, repair and/or replace the Private Sewer Lateral", which "extends past the private property line and into the public right-of-way" and "includes the connection to the public sewer located in the public right-of-way".
Palmdale
The authority’s side: The mainline sewer, and the tap repair where a lateral repair reaches into it. Section 13.02.040(B) provides that "the City is responsible for the operation, maintenance, repair and replacement of any mainline public sewer", and section 13.02.040(A) adds that where work on a house lateral "extends into the mainline sewer at the sewer line tap, then the sewer tap repair at the main line becomes the responsibility of the City".
The owner’s side: The whole house lateral, fitting included. Section 13.02.040(A) makes each property owner "responsible for the installation, repair and maintenance of the entire house lateral or industrial connection sewer up to and including the wye or tee in the City's main line", and requires each owner to "keep his/her house lateral/industrial connection sewer in good working order at his/her own expense". The code defines a house lateral as "that part of the sewer piping which extends from the discharging premises to a connection with the mainline sewer". The owner is also "responsible for damage to any of the City's property which results from the owner's use, repair or maintenance of the house lateral".
Palo Alto
The authority’s side: The lower portion only, and only where a City Sewer Cleanout is present and accessible. Rule and Regulation 23 says the City owns that length and is responsible for its "inspection, maintenance, repair, and upgrade", and identifies it as the "lower portion of the Sewer Lateral (also known as Lower Sewer Lateral or City Lateral) from the Wastewater Main up to and including the first City Sewer Cleanout". Where the City's wastewater main runs inside a Public Utility Easement across private property that shrinks further, to "the Wastewater Main located within the Easement" and nothing else.
The owner’s side: The upper portion where there is a City cleanout, and the whole run where there is not. With one, the Customer "owns and is responsible for the inspection, maintenance, repair, and upgrade of the upper portion of the Sewer Lateral" from that cleanout to the building. Without one, "the Customer owns and is responsible for the inspection, maintenance, repair, and upgrade of the entire Sewer Lateral between the City's Wastewater Main and the building being served on the Premises" - and the regulation spells out what that means when it goes wrong: "the City is not responsible for damage resulting from sewage backups caused by lack of Sewer Lateral maintenance". A lateral that branches off the City's lower lateral is the Customer's too, including "the tee or wye connection to the City Lateral".
Palos Verdes Estates
The owner’s side: The run under the street, named as such. Section 20.24.080 assigns house laterals to "the owner of the property served", and section 20.20.130 puts a house lateral in the street, from the property line to the main-line sewer. Section 20.20.220 defines that main-line sewer independently - one "in which changes in alignment and grade occur only at manholes", and such sewers "are generally eight inches or more in diameter" - so the owner's length ends where that pipe begins. The City replaces the adopted code's meaning of "public sewer" with "all sanitary sewers and appurtenances thereto lying within streets or easements dedicated to the city, which are under the sole jurisdiction of the city", and the boundary is unaffected: a house lateral ends at the main-line sewer whatever "public sewer" is taken to cover.
Paramount
The owner’s side: The run under the street, named as such. Section 20.24.080 assigns house laterals to "the owner of the property served", and section 20.20.130 places that lateral in the street, from the property line to the main-line sewer. Section 20.20.220 defines the main-line sewer independently - one "in which changes in alignment and grade occur only at manholes" - so the owner's length ends where that pipe begins.
Pasadena
The owner’s side: The house sewer, which reaches the main. Section 13.24.610 states that "all house sewers and appurtenances thereto, now existing or hereafter constructed, shall be maintained by the owner of the property served in a safe and sanitary condition", and section 13.24.010 defines a house sewer as "that part of the horizontal piping beginning 24 inches from the exterior wall of the building or structure and extending to its connection with the public sewer". Public Works puts it without the code: "the private "house sewer" extends beyond the property line into the public street."
Paso Robles
The owner’s side: The building lateral from the building to the City sewer - "from all points of the property to the city sewer" - including the length under the street, kept in a safe and proper operating condition.
Pleasanton
The owner’s side: The side sewer and the service lateral, from the building to the trunk line. The side sewer is "a pipe connecting to a service lateral from a house or other structure", and the service lateral carries on from the edge of the street or easement to the trunk line - the City's name for the main, "a main sewer line to which two or more service laterals are connected".
Pomona
The owner’s side: The house connection, out to and including the joint at the City's sewer. Section 62-399(g) provides that "the property owner shall also be responsible for maintaining the house connections up to and including the connection to the sewer line", and the City repeats it on its own Tree Roots page: "the maintenance of private sewers is the responsibility of private property owners".
Porterville
The owner’s side: The house connection from the house to the City's main or common sewer, the length under the street included. Section 25-33 defines connections as "A privately owned and maintained pipe conveying sewage from a single building or premises into a lateral or other common sewer".
Rancho Palos Verdes
The owner’s side: All of it. The City states that "it is a property owner's responsibility to inspect, repair and maintain his or her own private sewer lateral". For the run beneath the road, the City has adopted the Los Angeles County sanitary sewer ordinance as its own under municipal code section 13.04.010, and that ordinance provides that "all house laterals ... shall be maintained by the owner of the property served in a safe and sanitary condition" - a "house lateral" being defined there 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".
Redondo Beach
The owner’s side: The sewer connection, which in Redondo Beach is defined to include the run under the road. Section 5-4.303 states that "the property owner shall be responsible for the construction, maintenance and repairs of all property sewer connection", and section 5-4.103 defines a sewer connection as "a privately maintained sewer line, including the connection, wye or tee, within a public street or right-of-way, proposed to connect any parcel, lot or part of a lot to a main line sewer". So the fitting at the main is named as the owner's, which most codes leave unsaid.
Redwood City
The authority’s side: The lower lateral, from the property line out to the main. The City states that "the lower lateral is from the property line to the sewer main and is maintained by the City", and its FAQ puts the handover at the cleanout: the public side "refers to the section of the lateral between the sewer cleanout (usually located at the resident's property line) and the sewer main line out in the street". Its code defines the term the same way - a sewer lateral is "that portion of a building sewer located in the public right-of-way which extends from the sewerage facilities to the street property line or limit of public right-of-way or easement".
The owner’s side: The upper lateral, the cleanout, and everything inside the property line. The City states that "the upper lateral is the property owner's responsibility" and that "the property owner must maintain sewer lines on the owner's side (everything past the property line, including the upper lateral and plumbing within the home)". Its FAQ adds the cleanout itself to that: the private side "refers to all plumbing lines located inside the property line, including the cleanout", and asked whether the City will install one, the answer is "No. Sewer cleanouts belong to the property owner. It is the responsibility of the property owner to install a property line cleanout". Asked whether the City fixes sewer lines on private property: "No. The area between the sewer cleanout and the house (owner's side) is the responsibility of the property owner and must be repaired/serviced by the owner or designated service personnel".
Rialto
The owner’s side: Everything from the building drain to the City's sewer, the connection included. Section 12.08.165 provides that "building sewers, including sewer laterals, shall be maintained by the owners of properties being served by the building sewers", and that "maintenance liability of a building sewer includes the entire building sewer extending from the building drain into the public right-of-way up to and including the connection with the public sewer". Section 12.08.140 adds the installation side: "all costs and expenses incident to the installation and connection of the building sewer is borne by the owner."
Richmond
The owner’s side: The whole lateral and the joint at the main. Section 12.17.040 defines a private sewer lateral as "a pipe or pipes and appurtenances that carry wastewater and liquid waste from the structure(s) served to the sewer main", and adds that "the property owner is also responsible for the connection to the sewer main". Section 12.17.050(a) says the same again: owners "shall maintain all PSLs associated with their parcels", "shall perform any repair or replacement necessary", and are "also responsible for the connection of the PSL to the sewer main".
Riverside
The authority’s side: The lower lateral of a house, and only of a house. Section 14.08.020.B states that "the City shall maintain the sewer lateral of residential premises (excluding nonresidential premises) beginning at the property line or City easement boundary to the point of connection to the City sewerage system". The code's definitions put apartments, condominiums and boarding houses outside that, so the City takes no part of their laterals.
The owner’s side: Everything up to where the City's duty begins, and for some homes that is everything. A "private residential sewer lateral line" is defined as running from the premises "to the premises property line or City easement", so a house owner keeps the pipe to the property line. A "nonresidential private sewer lateral line" runs from the premises "to the point of connection to the City sewerage system", so an apartment, condominium or boarding house keeps the whole run including the part under the road. Every customer must also keep the line "in good working order and free of defects (which includes the installation of a two-way clean out tee at the property line or City easement boundary of at least four inches in diameter for maintenance) at their own expense".
Rolling Hills Estates
The owner’s side: All of it. The City states that "the owner of any property served by a private sewer lateral shall maintain such lateral in good condition and free from leaks, defects, or conditions that may cause infiltration, inflow, blockage, or discharge to the public right-of-way or public sewer system", and a leaking or defective lateral that does discharge is declared a public nuisance; the City may require a CCTV inspection and a repair, rehabilitation or replacement within a set time. For the portion under the road, the City has adopted the Los Angeles County sanitary sewer ordinance as its own, and that ordinance provides that "all house laterals ... shall be maintained by the owner of the property served in a safe and sanitary condition" - a "house lateral" being defined there 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". Note that the City's own section uses the phrase "private sewer lateral" without defining it, so the street portion rests on the adopted county text rather than on a single city sentence; the City Engineer is the place to settle it for a particular address.
Roseville
The authority’s side: The service from the main up to the cleanout, where a cleanout exists. The City's design standard provides that the service "shall extend from the main to the edge of the public right-of-way or easement", that the cleanout is built "2' outside of the sewer easement", and that "the cleanout indicates the separation between private and public for the purpose of maintenance". Its public page lists "service connections maintained by the City" among what the City looks after, alongside the mains.
The owner’s side: Everything upstream of the cleanout - and everything, full stop, where there is none. The standard states that "for private laterals, maintenance of the wye fitting at the main, and any portion of the private lateral upstream of it, is the responsibility of the private owner", and that "in cases where there is no cleanout, the sewer service is considered private all the way to the main, including the wye". The City's public page puts the owner's share as the "sewer lateral from the building to the City sewer main" and "clearing blockages in the private lateral line".
Ross Valley Sanitary District
The owner’s side: The District states that "private sewer laterals shall be owned, maintained and repaired by the Owner(s) of the property served", and that "the entire Private Sewer Lateral, from the building connection to and including the 'wye' connection or other-tie-in to the Sewer Main, shall fall within the Owner's responsibility for installation, maintenance and repair". The District's guidance adds that this "may extend to where the lateral crosses onto another property, regardless of whether a recorded easement exists" - so the pipe stays the owner's after it leaves their land. Separately, the District states it "will replace Lower Laterals with Defective Conditions as part of projects that replace the Sewer Main by open-cut and pipebursting construction methods" - which happens when the District rebuilds its own main rather than when a lateral fails, and which the ordinance does not describe as transferring responsibility.
Sacramento
The owner’s side: All of it, including under the road, and whatever the cause. The City states that "the customer shall maintain in good condition, and shall be responsible, regardless of the cause, for all required repairs to the customer's private sewer line and all other sewer pipe(s) and appurtenances on customer's premises, including the 'Y' cleanout and its connections", and defines a private sewer line as one "that connects to the city sewer main, including that portion of the private sewer line located within the public right-of-way". Excavating in the right-of-way to do that work requires complying with the rest of the code first. One thing worth doing anyway: the department may - but is not required to - inspect and clear or repair the portion nearest the main where the line "is equipped with a 'Y' cleanout that is visible and accessible to department personnel", and section 13.08.180 requires that cleanout to be installed before a new connection and whenever repairs are made to an existing line.
Sacramento Area Sewer District
The authority’s side: The lower lateral, the District cleanouts, the manholes, the main line and the wye - and blockages in all of it. Section 2.10.1 provides that "if the District owns the main line, the District is responsible for clearing stoppages and for inspecting, maintaining, and repairing the lower lateral, District cleanouts, manholes and main line", and that "the District is responsible for repairing and replacing all District wyes". Where the District does not own the main line, none of that applies: it then "has no responsibility for clearing stoppages or for inspecting, maintaining, or repairing the main line, cleanouts, or lower laterals".
The owner’s side: The upper lateral and the backwater valve on it. Section 2.10.1 gives the owner "the sole responsibility for clearing stoppages, inspecting, maintaining, and repairing the upper lateral, including backwater valve" - and says what that is for, requiring it be kept in a "condition that avoids negative impacts to the operation and maintenance of the District's system". The ordinance's own standard for that condition is that "the upper lateral should be kept free from roots, grease deposits, and other solids that may impede the flow", that "all pipes and joints should be tight, sound, and free from structural defects", and that no stormwater drains should be connected to it.
Salinas
The owner’s side: The whole building sewer, from the premises to the City's main, on public ground as well as private. Section 36-13 provides that "all costs and expense incident to the installation, connection and maintenance of the building sewer shall be borne by the owner", and that the owner "shall indemnify the city from any loss or damage that may directly or indirectly be occasioned by the installation of the building sewer". The code defines a building sewer as "a sewer conveying wastewater from the premises of a user to a community sewer", and a community sewer as "the wastewater collection systems owned and operated by the city" - so the defined length runs all the way to the City's system.
San Bernardino
The owner’s side: The full length from the building to the City's main, the part under the street included. The Department's definition makes a private sewer lateral "the privately owned and maintained wastewater collection pipe or conduit extending from the premises where the wastewater is generated (house sewer) up to, but not including, the connection to the City's or satellite service area's collection system", and states plainly that "maintenance and repair of the full length of the Private Sewer Lateral is the responsibility of the property owner". Rule and Regulation 7 adds that "all such maintenance and repairs shall be performed at the User's own expense, and they shall be liable for all damages, which may result from failure to do so".
San Bruno
The owner’s side: The City states that "property owners own the entire sewer lateral from their home to the point at which it connects with the Main Sewer line, (typically in the street)", that "ownership also includes the lateral WYE connection at the City sewer main", and that "all repairs of the lateral (both upper and lower) are the responsibility of the property owner". Separately, and without changing that, the City states that where "a city approved and permitted cleanout is installed in the sewer lateral within the correct setback", it "will place the lower lateral portion into a maintenance program" - clearing blockages and cutting roots. That programme does not repair or replace anything, and the City states it ends "anytime City of San Bruno staff determines that the lateral is no longer in a condition that can be maintained".
San Carlos
The authority’s side: The lower lateral, once there is an approved cleanout at the property line. The City states it plainly in its account of the wastewater system: "The property owner is responsible for the sewer lateral, but if an approved property line clean out is installed, the City assumes responsibility for the maintenance and repair of the lower portion of the laterals located within the public right-of-way." Its standard detail for that cleanout draws the same line: the sheet brackets the run either side of the cleanout, marking the main side the City's responsibility "upon approval and acceptance of installation" and the house side the property owner's, with the wye branch at the main falling on the City's side.
The owner’s side: Everything from the building to the cleanout - and, if you have no approved cleanout, everything to the main including the run under the road. The City states that "the property owner is responsible for the maintenance, repair, and replacement of their private sewer lateral", and its code defines a sewer lateral as "the sewer line beginning at the foundation wall of any building and terminating at the sewer main", including "the upper lateral and lower lateral together" - the lower lateral being "the portion of a sewer lateral lying within a public street connecting an upper lateral to the sewer main". Note that the code says who is responsible and never says who owns the pipe.
San Diego
The owner’s side: The whole of it, in the City's own words: "the entire length of the sewer lateral, extending from your home or building to its point of connection with the City sewer main underneath the street, is your private property", and "it is your responsibility as a property owner to maintain your sewer lateral". Council Policy 400-10 keeps routine upkeep with the owner across the same span, making them responsible "for both the routine maintenance and the required cleaning of the sewer line, from the building to the City sewer main". The City adds one caveat that changes who this applies to: "encroachment sewer laterals and sewer laterals located within easements are subject to different rules and policies" - it does not say what those rules are, so if your lateral crosses a neighbour's land or runs in an easement, this page is not describing your case. The City's Sewer System Management Plan names the far end more precisely than the fact sheet does: "the City does not own any portion of the service lateral. The private property owner is responsible for lateral maintenance and repair from the building connection to the wye connection at the sewer mainline." So the fitting where your pipe meets the main is yours too.
San Francisco
The authority’s side: The repair of the street section, though not its ownership. The City states that "when the Department of Public Works determines that a repair must be made to a side sewer located in a public roadway or property ... the repair shall be made by the Department of Public Works", and that in a public roadway it "shall be responsible only for that section extending from the side curb or curb line to the sewer main connection". Public Works must "include a provision in the annual budget to cover the estimated costs", so the work is not charged back. Three limits matter: the Department acts when it determines a repair is needed rather than on request; where the pipe's condition cannot be established "due to the lack of an appropriate vent or vented trap" it requires the owner to install one first; and the section does not apply to private sewers or utility drains.
The owner’s side: The pipe itself, and everything from the curb inwards. The City states that "all side sewers, private sewers, or utility drains are the property and maintenance responsibility of the owner or owners of property, facilities or structures tributary thereto", with repairs "at sole expense of such owner or owners except as provided in Section 103.1". A "side sewer" is defined as the portion running from the public sewer to "the front face of a curb or a curbline of record", so the length between the curb and the building is outside this Article entirely - a nuisance there is handled by the Bureau of Building Inspection under the Plumbing Code, and it is the owner's.
San Jacinto
The owner’s side: The whole run, both halves named. Section 13.20.260 puts maintenance, service, cleaning, repair and replacement on the owner from the building to the connection at the public sewer, and then states expressly that the duty covers the length inside the public right-of-way as well as the length on private ground. The City is named as not responsible in the same sentence.
San Jose
The authority’s side: Not the pipe, but the work on part of it, and only on conditions. Under section 15.16.420 the department of public works will, on written application and once the main has been ruled out, "rod the lateral to remove blockage" in the run between the property line and the sewer main - and "if, after such rodding, the department of public works determines the said lateral requires repair, the department of public works shall repair the said lateral, without charge to the owner". The City claims no ownership of that run and describes no general duty to maintain it; what it describes is a repair it performs for free once the process has been followed.
The owner’s side: The lateral end to end, as the ordinance describes it. Section 15.16.420 refers to "that portion of the sewer lateral owned by the owner lying between the owner's property line and structures on his property", and to the City repairing "that portion of the lateral owned by the property owner" - the run out to the main. The owner is also responsible for the wye cleanout: where none exists the owner must have one installed at their own expense, and where one is buried too deep or covered over the owner must expose it and bring it to within twenty-four inches of the surface before the City will act.
San Leandro
The owner’s side: The service lateral for its whole length, including under the street. The City states that "property owners are responsible for plumbing systems on their property and sewer laterals for the entire distance to the connection to the sewer main", and that "plumbing and laterals on both private property and within the public right-of-way must be maintained in proper working order". Its FAQ says the same: "you as the property owner are responsible for maintaining and repairing your service laterals (sewer pipes). Service laterals run from the connection at the home/business to the connection with the public sewer."
San Luis Obispo
The owner’s side: All of it, including the fitting at the main, and the code says so. Municipal Code section 13.08.395(B) provides that the entire lateral, from the building connection up to and including the wye connection or other tie-in to the city-owned sewer main, "shall fall within the owner's responsibility for installation, maintenance, repair, and replacement", and requires each owner to keep their lateral "in a safe and sanitary condition" - free of displaced joints, breaks, offsets, root intrusion, cracks, leaks and bellies, and equipped with cleanouts. Asked "who owns the private lateral in the City street right-of-way?", the City answers that "the property owner is responsible for the entire pipe length, including the wye or saddle at the point of connection to the City's mainline" - the wye or saddle being the fitting that joins the lateral to the public pipe, which most authorities leave unmentioned. Elsewhere the City puts it more simply: "the homeowner is responsible for their sewer lateral from the house to the connection at the City main (usually located in the street)". The City adds that it "does not maintain private sewer laterals but does keep a database of all known conditions", which it publishes as a lateral lookup. A City plumbing permit is needed for lateral repair or replacement even on private property, issued over the counter to licensed plumbers.
San Mateo
The owner’s side: The City states the owner "shall be responsible for any portion of the private sewer lateral extending from a building to the public sewer main, including the wye connection which joins the private sewer lateral to the public sewer main", and that repairs, replacement and maintenance - naming "the clearing of pipes using common industry hydro or mechanical cleaning tools" - "will not be provided by the City". The City's sewer-lateral FAQ adds that this holds "whether the private sewer lateral is under a public right-of-way (street) or on private property in an easement" - so the length under the road is the owner's too.
San Rafael
The owner’s side: All of it, on both districts' own statements. San Rafael Sanitation District states that "a sewer lateral is the privately owned pipe that connects your home or building to the public sewer main in the street" and that "as the property owner, you're responsible for maintaining and repairing this section of pipe"; asked how far that reaches, it answers that "property owners are responsible for maintaining the entire length of the sewer lateral, including the portion that runs under the street". Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District describes a lateral as "the segment of the sewer pipeline linking your residence to the public sewer main" and states that "the respective property owners are accountable for addressing any issues with their laterals". Its sewer system management plan goes further still: "lateral connections to the District's mains, including both the upper lateral, lower lateral, and the main connection fitting are owned by the property owner, who has responsibility for their operation and maintenance", and "maintenance of both the upper and lower laterals is the responsibility of the property owner".
Sanitary District No. 2 of Marin County
The owner’s side: The District's ordinance defines both halves as parts of one privately owned pipe: the lower lateral is "the portion of the private sewer lateral extending from the cleanout near the curb line to the sewer main, or from the curb line in the street to the sewer main if there is no cleanout near curb line", and "includes the connection to the sewer main". Its repair provisions fall on owners throughout - shared laterals are repaired jointly by the owners served, and responsibility after a failed test at sale is "an issue between the buyer and seller".
Sanitary District No. 5 of Marin County
The owner’s side: The District states that "the sewer lateral from the house to the District sewer main is the responsibility of the property owner", and that "if the problem turns out to be in your section of the sewer line, you may still need a plumber's help". It will attend free of charge to establish which side of the line a problem falls on - "if the problem is in our sewage mains, we can save you the cost of a plumber's visit" - which is a call-out on the District's own mains rather than maintenance of any part of the lateral. The District's Sewer Use Regulations put the duty in terms - "Lateral Sewers shall be maintained by the owner(s) of the property(s) served thereby" - and fix how far it reaches by defining a lateral sewer as "that portion of any Sewer beginning at the plumbing or drainage outlet of any Building or industrial facility and terminating at the Main Sewer". Where a lateral serves more than one property and the owners have no maintenance agreement between them, the regulations make them "jointly and severally liable for the repairs of the shared lateral sewer" - so any one of them can be pursued for the whole cost.
Santa Ana
The owner’s side: The entire lateral, upper and lower, to and including the connection with the main. Santa Ana Municipal Code section 39-50.1(b) provides that "a sewer lateral from its connection to a building on the property to its point of connection with the sewer main, inclusive of both the upper and lower sewer lateral, shall remain the responsibility of the property owner or user with regard to maintenance, repair and upkeep", and requires it to be kept sound "up to and including the junction of the sewer lateral and the sewer main". Section 39-50.2(b) says the same from the other direction: repair and maintenance of all lateral lines connected to the city sewer mains "shall be the responsibility of the owner/user".
Santa Clara
The owner’s side: Everything from the building to the City main. Section 13.10.020 defines a sewer lateral as "the sewer connection piping used to convey sewage from a building or facility on a parcel (private or public property) to the City-owned sewer main", and says that "each sewer lateral is owned by the entity that owns the property or facility from which that sewer lateral serves to convey sewage". Section 13.10.040 turns that into a duty: "each user shall keep his/her sewer connections and sewer lateral(s) in good order at his/her own expense and shall be liable for all damages resulting from failure to do so", and must keep it "free from displaced joints, open joints, root intrusions, substantial deterioration of pipe material, cracks, leaks, inflow or infiltration of extraneous water, grease and sediment deposits".
Santa Clarita
The owner’s side: The whole run to the main, including the part under the road. Los Angeles County Code section 20.24.080, adopted as Santa Clarita's own ordinance, provides that "all house laterals, industrial connection sewers, septic tank outlet connections to STEP system, and appurtenances thereto existing as of January 23, 1953, or thereafter constructed, shall be maintained by the owner of the property served in a safe and sanitary condition, and all devices or safeguards which are required by this Division 2 for the operation thereof shall be maintained in good working order". County Code section 20.20.130 defines a house lateral as the sewer piping within the street or right-of-way, from the property or sewer right-of-way line to its connection with the main-line sewer - so that sentence is about the street length, not the garden. The pipe across your own land is governed by the plumbing code and is yours in the ordinary way.
Santa Cruz
The owner’s side: The building sanitary sewer from the building to the public sewer, the connection included, on the lot and under the street. The same section adds that "The city shall have no responsibility or obligation for the maintenance, repair, or proper operation of such building sanitary sewer".
Santa Maria
The owner’s side: The whole run, and the fitting at the far end of it. The City's code splits the pipe into two named halves and then assigns both to the owner: a "lateral sewer" is "that portion of the side sewer which is within the public right-of-way", and a "house sewer" or "building sewer" is "that portion of the side sewer from the lateral sewer to its connection to the building drain". Both are parts of the side sewer, and section 8-12.304 puts side sewers on the owner without distinguishing between them. The naming is worth knowing when you ring the City or read a quotation, because a contractor may call the same pipe by either name.
Santa Monica
The owner’s side: The connection from the property to the main. The City states that "property owners are responsible for a sewer connection (lateral) from their property to the City's sewer main in the City street or alley", and section 7.04.640 provides that all house connection sewers "and appurtenances thereto, now existing or hereafter constructed, shall be maintained by the owner of the property served in a safe and sanitary condition". Note the code's definition of the term: a house connection sewer is the pipe "constructed in a street, alley, walk or other public place or in a sewer easement granted to the City and connecting ... any lot or part of a lot with any public sewer".
Santa Paula
The owner’s side: The lateral building sewer from the building to the main - the length under the street and the wye or saddle where it joins the main included - owned as well as maintained.
Santa Rosa
The owner’s side: The entire lateral, and the fittings in it. Section 15-04.035(B)(2) states that the "user shall maintain, operate, and repair, at user's own expense and after obtaining all required permits, the entire sewer service lateral, cleanouts, backwater valves and backflow overflow devices from, upon, within, and under user's premises and property and to the City sewer", and must keep it "clear, unobstructed ... free of all breaks, leaks and obstructions, including, but not limited to, roots, rocks, dirt, and grease". The code's definition puts the same boundary on it: a sewer service lateral "means that portion of the sewer system which connects the user's premises to the City sewer".
Saratoga
The authority’s side: The part of the lateral in the public street, on both districts' own statements, and in both cases only where the cleanout is there. Cupertino Sanitary District states that it "provides maintenance and repair of sewer laterals within the public street provided there is an accessible and serviceable cleanout at the property line". West Valley Sanitation District states it "will maintain that part of each building sewer lying within a public right-of-way (lower sewer lateral)", on the condition that "a properly installed, maintained, and accessible property line cleanout exists", and adds that it owns that length - a claim Cupertino Sanitary District does not make.
The owner’s side: The house lateral, the cleanout, and the fitting between the two halves. Cupertino Sanitary District states that "maintenance and repair of the private house sewer lateral, cleanout, and point-of-connection to the street lateral are the responsiblity of the property owner" - naming the point of connection, which most authorities leave open. West Valley Sanitation District states that the owner "retains ownership and maintenance responsibilities for all private sewer system components", which it defines to include the upper lateral from the building's plumbing to the property line. Where there is no properly installed, maintained and accessible property line cleanout, West Valley states the maintenance obligation for the lower lateral stays with the owner too.
Sausalito-Marin City Sanitary District
The owner’s side: The District states that "it shall be the responsibility of the property owner to perform all required maintenance, repairs and replacement of the private sewer lateral, including backwater valves", and defines that lateral as the piping "from two feet outside the outer foundation wall of the structure to the first encountered publicly owned sewer pipe, including the connection" - so the run beneath the street and the connection at the main are the owner's. Where a lateral serves more than one home, the District places the duty on the homeowners' association or other body responsible for the commonly owned property.
Simi Valley
The owner’s side: Everything, from the fixtures to the City's sewer. Section 6-13.507 makes the owner "responsible for all costs, maintenance and repair of the sewer lines in the facility or building and the sewer lateral line that connects the property to the public sewer". The chapter's defined public sewer is the publicly controlled main, so that is where the owner's length ends. There is no defined lateral and no part of the run carved back to the City.
Stege Sanitary District
The owner’s side: The District states that "in the Stege Sanitary District, the property owner is responsible for the entire sanitary sewer lateral up to and including the connection at the sanitary sewer main", and separately that "it is the responsibility of the property owner to maintain the sewer lateral". The owner's share therefore runs through the joint where the lateral meets the main, rather than stopping at the property line or a cleanout. The District's ordinance says the same and then says what "maintain" actually means, which the web page does not. Section 4.4.7 provides that "it shall be the responsibility of the property owner to perform all" maintenance, repairs and replacements needed to keep the lateral in the condition section 4.4.7.1 sets out - and that condition is specific: "The Lateral shall be kept free from roots, grease deposits, and other solids, which may impede the flow or obstruct the flow", "All joints shall be watertight and all pipes shall be sound", and "The Lateral shall be free of any structural defects, such as fractures, cracks, breaks, openings or missing portions". A lateral that merely drains is not necessarily one that complies. And the far end is fixed by the ordinance's own definition: a Lateral runs to the Main Sewer "including the connection to the Main Sewer".
Stockton
The authority’s side: The lower lateral, owned as well as maintained, from the sewer main to the back of the public right-of-way. The City's definition is explicit about title: a lower lateral is "the lateral line owned by the City connecting a home, business, commercial site, institution, industrial site, or other structure to the City's sewer main". Section 13.50.040.A then states without qualification that "lower laterals are maintained by the City of Stockton" - no cleanout requirement, no prior inspection, no programme membership.
The owner’s side: The upper lateral: "the private sanitary sewer lateral or pipeline connecting a home or other structure to the lower lateral, generally extending from the outside of the foundation of the structure to the public right-of-way or point of connection to the public sewer system". Where that pipe has caused a reportable sanitary sewer overflow, or where work is done on it, the City sets standards for it - it must be kept free of roots, grease and solids, its joints tight and its grade uniform, and its cleanouts "securely sealed with a proper cap at all times".
Thousand Oaks
The owner’s side: Both halves of the run, which is the point of the two definitions. Section 10-1.407 reaches "service laterals and other facilities beyond the City's public main" and makes them "solely the complete responsibility of the property owner", and section 10-1.907 repeats it where a reader is most likely to look: "in the event there is a blockage in the lateral, no adjustment in billing will be made. It shall be the property owner's responsibility to maintain his own system." The City's own Sewer System Management Plan says the same about its own practice - it "does not own, operate nor maintain any portion of the service laterals connecting to the City's sewer system mainlines".
Torrance
The owner’s side: The lateral and the fitting at the main. The City states that "property owners are responsible for maintaining and repairing their sewer lateral, including the connection to the public sewer main", and lists what that covers as "the entire pipe on private property" and "the connection point to the City sewer". The code supplies the extent: a house connection sewer is "that part of the horizontal piping beginning twelve (12) inches from the exterior wall of the building and extending to its connection with the public sewer".
Tulare
The owner’s side: The building sewer from the house to the public sewer, the length under the street included - the same code treats the sewer lateral as the building sewer, and section 7.20.360 regulates "the building sewer within the public right-of-way".
Turlock
The authority’s side: The sewer lateral and connection within the City's right-of-way, public property or easements, including the cleanout. Section 6-4-105 makes those lines City property once installed and approved.
The owner’s side: The sewer line on your own premises, up to the cleanout or customer side manhole. Section 6-4-105 provides that "All sewer lines on private property shall belong to the property owner, unless stated otherwise in this section."
Union Sanitary District
The owner’s side: The District states that "in accordance with District Ordinance No. 34, it is the property owner's responsibility to maintain and repair their own sewer lateral from the house up to the point of connection with the public sanitary sewer main", and spells out what that covers: "both the portion on private property and the portion located beneath the sidewalk and street up to the point where the lateral connects to the public main". The District maintains the public mains themselves - "over 839 miles of pipelines which are generally located within public streets or easements dedicated for District use" - and nothing of the lateral. Ordinance 34.08, which that page cites, states the position in stronger terms than the page does: the building sewer serving a property is owned by the property owner, who is responsible for constructing, maintaining, repairing and replacing it, including the lateral sewer - the ordinance's name for the length from the property line out to the main. It also requires owners to keep that pipe in a condition that prevents overflows and spills, and treats a building sewer found not to be properly maintained as a public nuisance, abated under the District's separate Sewer Use Ordinance. That ordinance is worth knowing about before anything goes wrong. Its section 7.01 declares a discharge in breach of the regulations a public nuisance to be corrected or abated as the Manager directs, and 7.02 says what it costs: where a discharge from a private sewer lateral creates or threatens a public nuisance the District has to abate, the District may recover the cost of its time and materials from the property owner, together with interest and attorneys' fees, under the Health and Safety Code section that collects such sums on the property tax roll. So the bill for a spill from your lateral is not capped at the clean-up.
Vacaville
The owner’s side: The whole run and the junction with the main. Section 13.08.110(B)(2) makes "Each property owner" responsible for "maintenance and repair of their private sewer lateral" in a safe and sanitary condition, and lists what that means: laterals "shall be free of displaced joints, breaks, offsets, structural defects, damage, open joints, missing portions of pipe, root intrusion, cracks, leaks", and "shall be equipped with cleanouts".
Vallejo Flood and Wastewater District
The authority’s side: The District states it "will be responsible for the clearing, cleaning, repair, and maintenance of any lower lateral and District cleanout", and that where a District cleanout has been installed the lower lateral is "the portion of the lateral from the District's mainline to and including the cleanout". It also states that "only District staff or its approved contractors are permitted to perform any work, including cleaning services or efforts to clear a blockage on a District cleanout, lower lateral, or mainline sewer".
The owner’s side: The District states "the owner of any property served by the lateral is responsible for the clearing, cleaning, repair, and maintenance of the upper lateral" - the portion from the cleanout to the building - and that where an upper lateral is found to admit inflow or infiltration, the owner may be required by the General Manager to correct it.
Ventura
The owner’s side: The whole lateral, the fitting at the main included, and the code gives the owner title as well as the duty. Section 22.250.020 defines a private sewer lateral as "the privately owned sanitary sewer piping or line connecting the building or other structure to the public sewer, and includes the wye or saddle at the public sewer". Section 22.250.040 requires each property owner to "inspect, maintain in good working order, repair and replace, as necessary, the private sewer lateral" at their own expense, and states that private sewer laterals "are the property of the property owner and are not part of the public sewer".
Victorville
The authority’s side: The length in the street, from the main to your property line. Section 10.02.060 makes the City responsible for "the operation, maintenance, repair and replacement of any public sewer main or trunk lines within a dedicated public right-of-way or easement, including the sewer lateral line from the sewer main-line or trunk line to the property line", and the definitions agree: a sewer lateral is "that portion of horizontal piping that located in the public right-of-way that connects a building sewer to a public sewer and is maintained by the city".
The owner’s side: Everything from the building to the property line, and the code is specific about what that means in practice. Section 10.02.070(a) requires owners "to maintain in good working order, at the property owners' sole expense, the building sewer line from their building or structure to their property line", and to "keep the building sewer line free of roots, grease, debris, and blockages, and ... ensure that there are no breaks, cracks or other issues as to prevent the sewer lateral from operating in an efficient manner". The definitions make the same division: a building sewer is "a sewer located on a user's private property ... and is maintained by the property owner".
Visalia
The owner’s side: All of it, including the fitting in the City's main. The City defines a "side sewer" as "the privately owned and maintained sewer which connects the plumbing system of the building to the main sewer", beginning "at the point of connection to the main sewer, including the wye" and ending "two feet outside the foundation line or building wall". Its maintenance section states that "side sewers, including lateral sewers and wyes, shall be maintained by the owner of the property served in good order and condition, at his or her sole cost and expense" - a "lateral sewer" being "that portion of the side sewer which is within the public right-of-way". The City does the installation work in the street, terminating at the property line, but "all costs and expenses incident to the installation and connection of a lateral sewer shall be borne by the owner", so that is labour rather than ownership. Where a building sits too low to drain by gravity, lifting the sewage is also at the owner's expense.
West Bay Sanitary District
The owner’s side: The District states that "all side sewers, from the connection at the District Public Sewer to the property served, are the property of, solely owned by, and the sole responsibility of, the Property Owner". Separately, and without changing that, it states it "may provide side sewer clearance, between the public sewer and the property line cleanout of properties which have a Conforming Property Line Cleanout Assembly" - so clearing a blockage in the run under the road may be the District's, while the pipe and any repair to it remain the owner's.
West Covina
The owner’s side: Everything between the City's main and the building. Section 23-114 requires that "all house sewer connections, industrial connection sewers and appurtenances thereto between the mainline public sanitary sewer and the facility being served, now existing or hereafter constructed, shall be maintained by the owner of the property served in a safe and sanitary condition", and that the devices and safeguards the article requires "shall be maintained in good working order by the owner of the property served".
West Sacramento
The authority’s side: For a single-family home, the lower lateral - the length from the City's cleanout to the main. Section 13.08.040 defines lower laterals as "the portion of a side sewer connecting the main sewer and existing city cleanout".
The owner’s side: The upper lateral, from the building to the City's cleanout. Section 13.08.040 defines upper laterals as "the portion of a side sewer beginning at the plumbing or drainage outlet of any building or industrial facility and running to the existing city cleanout".
West Valley Sanitation District
The authority’s side: The District states it "will maintain that part of each building sewer lying within a public right-of-way (lower sewer lateral)", performing removal of blockages, removal or treatment of root growths, and "repair or replacement of all, or a part of the lower sewer lateral" when its condition is an unreasonable inconvenience or when replacement becomes more economical than continued maintenance. The District states this applies "if a properly installed, maintained, and accessible property line cleanout exists".
The owner’s side: The District states the property owner "retains ownership and maintenance responsibilities for all private sewer system components", which it defines to include the upper sewer lateral - from the building's plumbing to the property line - along with easement laterals and building sewers connected to a private sewer system. Where an approved property line cleanout has not been installed or kept accessible, the District states the maintenance obligation for the entire building sewer, and any resulting backup or overflow, is the owner's.
Whittier
The owner’s side: The entire run and the connection at the end of it, with both ends fixed by the code rather than described. The near end is "the outer face of the building served" - not a point inside the house and not a measured distance from it. The far end is the connection into the public sewer main, "including the connection itself", so a failure at the junction is the owner's. The definition also names what travels with the pipe: "all pipes, fittings, and appurtenances".
Woodland
The authority’s side: The length of the lateral from the City sewer main to the property line or curb line of the property it serves.
The owner’s side: The building sewer from the building to the property line or curb line - the length on your own lot.
Woodside
The authority’s side: 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 owner’s side: 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.
Yuba City
The owner’s side: Everything from the building to the main, the wye included, owned as well as maintained. The same section provides that every lateral connecting a user to a City-owned main "shall be owned, maintained, and repaired by the owner of the property being served, from and including the lateral's connection point at the City sewer main to the building or other point of use on the property".