Under the road, your sewer and water pipes get different answers in 128 of 201 California places

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · East Bay Regional Private Sewer Lateral Program

The property owner is responsible for the entire lateral, upper and lower, from the home to the public main - except in Alameda and Albany, where the programme covers the upper lateral only.

What decides which applies

Which city you are in changes the answer, and in two of the five it changes it by the length of the road. The programme's own page stops at the upper lateral for Alameda and Albany without saying who has the rest; each of those cities says so itself. Alameda's sewer system management plan states that "the property owner owns the entire service lateral from the building to the connection to the City's sewer main; however, the City takes responsibility for maintenance and replacement of the lower portion of the lateral", and that "the upper lateral remains the responsibility of the private property owner" - the City rehabilitating a lower lateral when it rehabilitates the main it connects to, or when the lower lateral fails, whichever comes first. Albany takes the lower lateral too, from the kerb to the main; its own page for householders is the place to have that confirmed. So if you are in Alameda or Albany, the run under the road is the City's to keep up and the part across your own land is yours - ring the City before you ring a plumber. In Oakland, Emeryville and Piedmont the whole run is yours, and Piedmont's own plan puts the connection at the main on you as well. One caution for Alameda: the City's code still reads that "property owners own the entire sewer lateral and must maintain, repair and replace all sewer laterals associated with their parcels", which is broader than what its plan says the City does - the plan is the more recent statement of what the City will actually do, and the code has not caught up.

Alameda

Water · East Bay Municipal Utility District

EBMUD draws its line precisely: it repairs "leaks on the street side of the meter and ... the meter itself, including the threads on the customer's side of the meter", and everything past those threads is the customer's. In most of the East Bay that is the opposite shape to the sewer answer, where the owner's lateral runs all the way under the road to the main.

The water page for Alameda

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Alhambra

Alhambra writes its own sewer code and puts the whole house connection sewer on the owner. Section 16.12.110 provides that "All house connection sewers and appurtenances thereto, now existing or hereafter constructed after September 18, 1951, shall be maintained by the owner of the property served in a safe and sanitary condition". Section 16.04.110 defines the house connection sewer as the horizontal piping "beginning 24 inches from the exterior wall of the building or structure and extending to its connection with the public sewer".

Alhambra

Water · Alhambra

The City installs, owns and maintains everything from the main to the meter. Section 15.04.050 provides that "All water pipes between water mains and water meters shall be installed by the Water Department and it shall be unlawful for any person to install such services", and section 15.12.080 that "All services and water meters installed by the Water Department of the city shall remain at all times the property of the city and shall be maintained and repaired and renewed by the city when rendered unserviceable through fair wear and tear".

The water page for Alhambra

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Alturas

In Alturas the City maintains the sewer mains and the customer maintains the whole service line. Section 21-12 of the City's code provides that "All maintenance of sewer main lines shall be the responsibility of the city. Service lines shall be maintained by the customer."

Alturas

Water · Alturas

Alturas owns and maintains the service line from the main to and including the meter, and the customer maintains everything beyond it. Section 27-1 of the City's code provides that "All maintenance of water mains and service lines (from the main to and including the water meter) shall be the responsibility of the city. Service lines beyond the meter shall be maintained by the customer."

The water page for Alturas

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Angels Camp

Angels Camp puts the lateral on the owner from the connection at the main. Section 13.30.010 provides that "Sewer service laterals that connect private sewers to the public sewer shall be the responsibility of the private property owner. Private sewers begin at the connection line on the public sewer main in the public street or sewer easement."

Angels Camp

Water · Angels Camp

The City of Angels holds title to the water meter and the service pipe from its main and maintains the meter, and its standard service-connection drawing hands maintenance to the customer at the meter's outlet. Section 14.35.070 provides that "Title to the meter, service pipes and appurtenances used in providing a water service connection is in the water system", and section 14.50.020 that "The city shall maintain, repair and replace water meters."

The water page for Angels Camp

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Arcadia

Arcadia puts the whole house connection sewer on the owner and keeps only the main. Section 7424 provides that "All house connection sewers, 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 7426 that "The City shall in no event be responsible for the maintenance or repair of or for removal of obstructions in or to any house connection sewer".

Arcadia

Water · Arcadia

Arcadia's water department keeps the service and the meter as its own, with the repair bill for ordinary wear. Section 7540.12 provides that "All services and all water meters and boxes installed by the Department shall at all times remain the property of the Department", and that "The expense of maintenance, repair, renewal or replacement of such services, meters, materials and boxes due to normal wear and usage shall be borne by the Department."

The water page for Arcadia

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Arroyo Grande

Arroyo Grande puts everything but the City's main on the owner, the fittings on the main included. Section 13.12.120 provides that "Lateral sewers shall be installed by a contractor licensed to do sewer work and shall be maintained by the property owner", and section 13.12.160 defines the building sewer, for the purposes of the chapter, "as all sewerage exclusive of city main line including, but not limited to, the wyes, tees, saddles, laterals and plumbing."

Arroyo Grande

Water · Arroyo Grande

Arroyo Grande maintains the water service line up to the meter, and the customer has the line past it. The City's answer to "Where does the City's responsibility end on a water service lateral?" is that "The City's responsibility for maintaining water service lines ends at the water meter. The customer is responsible for the line on the customer side of the meter."

The water page for Arroyo Grande

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Atascadero

Atascadero puts the whole building sewer on the owner, the length under the street and the connection to the main included. Section 7-2.001 defines the building sewer as "that portion of any sewer beginning two feet from any building and extending to and including its connection to a public sewer", and provides that "Building sewers are considered privately-owned and maintained by the owner of the property or project it serves."

Atascadero

Water · Atascadero Mutual Water Company

Atascadero Mutual Water Company maintains the service line from the main to the meter, and the owner everything past it. Its consumer information page states: "Shareholders are responsible for maintaining all piping and other facilities downstream of the meter and for all water that passes through the meter. AMWC is only responsible for maintaining the water service between the water main and the water meter."

The water page for Atascadero

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Belmont

Belmont puts every portion of the lateral on the owner, the connection to the main included. Section 21-210 provides that "A property owner must install and maintain in good repair all portions of the sewer lateral servicing his or her property including the connection of the lateral to the public sewer main and any back flow prevention devices or cleanouts required by this chapter or chapter 7."

Belmont

Water · Mid-Peninsula Water District

Mid-Peninsula Water District takes the pipes on the street side of the meter, and the owner the pipes past it. The District's answer to "Whose pipes are whose?" puts its own responsibility on the street side of the water meter, "including all service lines and water mains extending throughout the community", and says the property owner "is generally responsible for all pipes and plumbing" on the customer side of the meter.

The water page for Belmont

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Big Bear Lake

In Big Bear Lake the whole building sewer, lateral and cleanout included, is the user's to maintain, repair and replace. Section 13.08.410 of the City's code provides that "The user shall bear the burden and all expenses related to maintenance and repair or replacement of the building sewer."

Big Bear Lake

Water · Big Bear Lake

Big Bear Lake's Department of Water and Power owns and maintains the service up to and including the meter, and the customer has everything past it. Its rules provide that "The DWP's title and responsibility shall end at the outlet side of the meter", and that "The Customer shall be responsible for the expense of installation and maintenance of the Customer's Water System connected to the DWP's meter outlet."

The water page for Big Bear Lake

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Buena Park

Buena Park puts the whole run on the owner in one sentence and defines both halves of it. Section 13.04.210 provides that "The maintenance, repair and upkeep of connecting sewers and house sewers shall be the responsibility of the property owner or user". Section 13.04.010 defines the connecting sewer as "that portion of the sewer system which extends from the main sewer to the street right-of-way line", adding that it "May also be referred to as the lateral".

Buena Park

Water · Buena Park

The City supplies the water, and owns and maintains the service pipe and the meter. Section 13.12.060 provides that "The service pipes and water meters installed shall become and remain at all times property of the city", and that "They shall be maintained, repaired and renewed by the department when rendered unserviceable through ordinary wear and tear".

The water page for Buena Park

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Burbank

The property owner maintains the building sewer all the way to the public sewer, and the City's definitions put the portion under the street on the owner's side. Where a City parkway tree's roots crushed the pipe, the City may reimburse the repair - but only with permits and an inspection before the damaged pipe is removed.

Burbank

Water · Burbank

Burbank Water and Power owns the water service line and promises to maintain it, all the way to the outlet side of your meter. Yours begins at the meter gasket. If the leak is on the street side of the meter, it is BWP's pipe and BWP's job.

The water page for Burbank

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Ceres

Ceres puts the whole lateral on the owner and says so twice. Section 13.14.040 defines a house connection as "a privately owned and maintained residential sewer pipe conveying sewage from a single building or premises to its connection with a main line", and section 13.15.030 provides that "The City shall not be responsible for the repair, maintenance, cleaning or replacement of a lateral sewer."

Ceres

Water · Ceres

Ceres draws the line at the meter and states both halves. Section 13.02.020 provides that "The City shall be responsible for operating, maintaining, and replacing all portions of the water system and water facilities which are owned by the City", and section 13.02.070 that "The customer shall be responsible for the proper operation and maintenance of the customer's private water line".

The water page for Ceres

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Cloverdale

In Cloverdale the property owner maintains the whole lateral, from the City's sewer main to the building. Section 13.12.110 of the City's code provides that "The property owners shall maintain the laterals from the sewer main to the residence." The owner also installs the lateral from the main sewer line to the property, or pays the City to install it.

Cloverdale

Water · Cloverdale

The City of Cloverdale owns and keeps the water service connection up to and including the meter. Section 13.04.330 provides that "The service connection, including the meter and the meter box and all distribution lines, will be repaired and maintained by the city at its own expense." The pipe from the meter to the building is the owner's.

The water page for Cloverdale

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Clovis

The property owner owns, maintains and repairs the whole sewer lateral, and the City says so about the expensive part in terms: the portion beneath the sidewalk and street, up to and including the point where it connects to the City main. There is no cleanout condition and no carve-out.

Clovis

Water · Clovis

The City owns the water service from its main to your meter and repairs leaks on it. From the meter to the house the pipe is yours, and so is the leak.

The water page for Clovis

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Colfax

In Colfax the building sewer lateral is the owner's all the way to the wye at the public main. The code defines it as beginning "at the wye or point of connection with the public sewer" and provides that "Every property owner shall keep and maintain every building sewer lateral(s) connecting the property owner's premises to the public sewer main in good condition and repair."

Colfax

Water · Placer County Water Agency, Colfax

Placer County Water Agency keeps its system up to the point where it delivers the water. Its rules provide that "The Agency shall be responsible for operating, maintaining, and replacing all portions of the water system up to the Point of Delivery to the customer", and define that point as "The location where the Agency delivers service and privately owned facilities begin."

The water page for Colfax

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Concord

The split is at your property line cleanout, and the half under the street is the City's property rather than yours - even if an applicant paid to build it. Everything applicants pay for "(excepting property sewers)" becomes, "upon acceptance by the city ... the property of the city, which shall have the right to repair, replace, and maintain the same". Your side is the property sewer, from that cleanout back to the building, and "each owner shall keep his property sewer in good order at his own expense". That is the answer where the City's sewer serves the property, which is most of Concord; in the parts Central Contra Costa Sanitary District serves, the whole lateral to the main is the owner's.

What decides which applies

The property line cleanout divides the pipe, and two things about Concord's version are worth a reader's attention. The first is how the City's half became the City's. It is not simply drawn on a map: under section 13.05.100(g) sewer connections and installations paid for by applicants, "(excepting property sewers)", become the City's property on acceptance - so a developer or owner may have paid to lay the pipe under the street and it is the City's nonetheless, with the City holding "the right to repair, replace, and maintain the same". The second is what the code does not say. It gives the City that right and never states a duty; chapter 13.05 contains no sentence saying the city shall maintain a lateral sewer. It does say the reverse where the pipe is outside the system - "the city will not be responsible for the installation or maintenance of any sewer lines beyond the end of its service" - and it makes the owner liable for damage their own use causes to the City's system. If a blockage sits in the street here, the City owns that pipe; whether it is bound to repair it is a question this code leaves open, and one worth asking directly rather than assuming either way. Before any of that, settle whose sewer serves the property. The City's Sewer Information page says "The majority of properties located within the City of Concord's city limits are located within the City of Concord's service area. However, there are CCCSD service areas located within the City of Concord's city limits", and that laterals and mains in the city "are serviced (regulated, permitted, plan reviewed, and inspected) by either the City of Concord or the Central Contra Costa Sanitary District". In Central Contra Costa Sanitary District's areas the District's Code of Laws applies instead: "A side sewer is a private facility", and the owner is responsible for "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)". There the street half is the owner's, not the District's, and "CCCSD will issue a separate permit for the sewer system". If you are not sure which applies, the City asks you to contact its Current Development Engineering Division.

Concord

Water · Contra Costa Water District

Contra Costa Water District lays the water service line from its main to your meter and charges the applicant for it, and it installs, sets and maintains the meter. Where that meter sits is settled by the District's own standard drawing, approved for use in August 2024: at the back of the curb or the back of the sidewalk, with everything past it marked "PRIVATE SYSTEM" on its meter sheets. Bear in mind what that drawing is - a standard for what gets built now, rather than a statement about a service laid decades ago. What no CCWD document says is who repairs the pipe between the main and the meter - so that is the question to ask before you need the answer.

The water page for Concord

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Corona

Corona assigns the pipe plainly and defines it only by where it ends. Section 13.12.050 of the municipal code provides 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 all devices or safeguards which are required by this chapter for the operation thereof shall be maintained in good working order". The code never defines a house lateral, so where the owner's run stops comes from what it runs to: section 13.12.020 defines a public sewer as "a main line sanitary sewer dedicated to public use".

Corona

Water · Corona

The City's Utilities Department maintains the pipe from the main to the meter and the meter itself, and the customer maintains everything after it. Section 13.14.090(C) provides that "The service connection extending from the water main to and including the meter shall be maintained by the Department, and all pipes and fixtures extending or lying beyond the meter including the gate valve or ball valve shall be installed and maintained by the customer".

The water page for Corona

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Sanitary District No. 2 of Marin County

The property owner is responsible for the whole lateral, including the run from the curb to the sewer main and the connection itself.

Corte Madera

Water · Marin Municipal Water District

Marin Water owns and maintains the service line from the main to and including the meter. The pipe from the meter to the building is the property owner's.

The water page for Corte Madera

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Covina

Covina borrows its sewer rules from the County and then says the answer in its own words. Section 13.50.010(A) of its municipal code adopts "the Los Angeles County Code, Divisions 2 and 3 of Title 20, as amended through and including August 1, 2007" as the City's sanitary sewer and industrial waste code, and section 13.50.040 rewrites the County's maintenance section as the City's own: "All house laterals, industrial connection sewers, septic tank outlet connections to STEP system, and appurtenances thereto shall be maintained by the owner of the property served in a safe and sanitary condition". Inside the adopted County text, a house lateral is "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" - so the length the code puts on the owner is the run under the street. The City's Public Works Department tells homeowners the same thing in plain words.

Covina

Water · Covina

Where the City of Covina is your water supplier, the City owns and maintains the service line from the main up to and through the meter, wherever the meter sits. Rule 11 of the City's Water Utility Rules and Regulations provides that "the Utility shall own and maintain all water service connections up to and through the rear water meter union whether located on private property or in the public right-of-way". Your own pipework begins after the meter.

The water page for Covina

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Culver City

Culver City writes its own rule and puts the whole lateral on the owner, up to but not including the fitting on the main. Section 5.02.007 of its municipal code provides that "The owner of the facility and plumbing to which the sewer lateral is connected is obligated to maintain the sewer lateral to ensure public health and safety, and proper flow of sewerage from the facility." Section 5.02.001 defines the sewer lateral as the pipe "used for conveying sewage from a facility's plumbing to the public sewer system", leaving out the connecting wye, T or saddle "or other structure used to physically connect to the public sewer system."

Culver City

Water · Golden State Water Company, Culver City System

Golden State Water owns the service pipe, the curb stop, the meter and the meter box, and says plainly that it maintains them: "We maintain the pipes up to the water meter, but any leaks or issues beyond the meter are the responsibility of the property owner." The curb stop, which folklore treats as the boundary, is expressly the company's.

The water page for Culver City

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Daly City

The whole pipe is yours, and the authority says so in unusually blunt terms. North San Mateo County Sanitation District, which runs the sewers for Daly City, states in its 2025 Sewer System Management Plan that it "does not own and is not responsible for maintaining neither the lower nor upper portions of sewer laterals tributary to its system". Both halves, named and disclaimed. In several neighbouring cities the lower half is the authority's; here it is not.

Daly City

Water · Daly City

The City maintains the service connection and draws the line at the curb rather than at the meter, which is unusual - but only while the damage is not your doing. Where the break was caused by a careless act on the premises, the bill comes back to whoever caused it.

The water page for Daly City

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Central Contra Costa Sanitary District

The property owner is responsible for the whole lateral, from the building to Central San's sewer line in the street - and the District's code puts the fitting at the main inside that. The one thing it pays for is a reconnection its own work on the public sewer makes necessary.

Danville

Water · East Bay Municipal Utility District

EBMUD draws its line precisely: it repairs "leaks on the street side of the meter and ... the meter itself, including the threads on the customer's side of the meter", and everything past those threads is the customer's. In most of the East Bay that is the opposite shape to the sewer answer, where the owner's lateral runs all the way under the road to the main.

The water page for Danville

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Delano

Delano keeps the public sewer and nothing that runs off it. Section 13.28.040 provides that "The city does not assume any obligation or expense for maintaining any building sewers from the public sewer to the premises served", and that "All service and expense of operation and maintenance of the public sewer shall be borne by the city."

Delano

Water · Delano

Delano puts the pipe on your land on you in its definitions. Section 13.04.010 defines the "Consumer private water pipeline" as "the pipeline not located in the city's right-of-way, extending from the connection to the city's water which is located on the premises or property of the consumer and shall be the sole responsibility of the consumer". The City lays the service connection up to your property line and keeps the meter, but the code does not say who repairs that connection afterwards.

The water page for Delano

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Diamond Bar

In Diamond Bar the whole house lateral is the owner's, including the part under the street. The City's code provides that "All house laterals ... shall be maintained by the owner of the property served in a safe and sanitary condition", and Los Angeles County Public Works, which maintains the mainline sewers, says that "The private property owner is responsible for the entire length of the lateral, which includes that portion that may be located within the public right of way (under the asphalt and street landscaping)."

Diamond Bar

Water · Walnut Valley Water District

Walnut Valley Water District owns the service line up to the meter and fixes its own equipment, and the customer has the line from the meter to the home. The District's answer to who is responsible for leaks and repairs is that "Customers are responsible for leaks on their property, including the line between the meter and the home," and that "WVWD is responsible for fixing leaks on District-owned equipment, such as the meter itself."

The water page for Diamond Bar

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Downey

Downey is unusually direct about this, and says both halves in one place. Section 7240 of the Downey Municipal Code provides that "the Director of Public Works has the responsibility for the maintenance of the City's public sewer facilities, including main line sewers, pumping stations, manholes, and terminal cleanouts", and that "the Los Angeles County Sanitation District No. 2 has the responsibility of maintaining all trunk sewers in the City which are under the District's jurisdiction". Section 7240.2 then takes the other side: "all house laterals, industrial connection sewers, and appurtenances thereto, now existing or hereafter constructed, shall be maintained in a safe and sanitary condition by the owner of the property served". Section 7214.14 defines the 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 the City puts on the owner is the length under the road.

Downey

Water · Downey

Downey's Water Division owns your meter and keeps it up - the code says meters "shall remain at all times the property of the Division and shall be maintained, repaired, and replaced by the Division". Your side starts there: you are responsible "for the cost of any water lost through leaks or defective lines between the meter and the point of use". What the code never says is who repairs the pipe between the main and that meter, so that is the question to ask before you need the answer.

The water page for Downey

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Dublin San Ramon Services District

The whole lateral is yours, all the way to the main in the middle of the street - and the District says so in the words a homeowner would use, going out of its way to say the line is not at the property line or the curb.

Dublin

Water · Dublin San Ramon Services District

Yours from the house to the meter; the District owns the meter and the pipe behind it. The one thing that moves that line is damaging the meter yourself, which the District will bill you for.

The water page for Dublin

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Jurupa Community Services District

The whole lateral is yours, including the fitting where it meets the District main - and the District's own page tells you less than that, because it talks about clearing blockages while the ordinance behind it decides repairs.

Eastvale

Water · Jurupa Community Services District

Jurupa Community Services District looks after the service line from the street to the meter, and the customer has everything on their side of it. Asked "where does my responsibility start and stop?", the District answers that the customer's responsibility "starts on their side of meter" and that "The district is responsible from the meter to the street connection."

The water page for Eastvale

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · East Bay Regional Private Sewer Lateral Program

The property owner is responsible for the entire lateral, upper and lower, from the home to the public main - except in Alameda and Albany, where the programme covers the upper lateral only.

What decides which applies

Which city you are in changes the answer, and in two of the five it changes it by the length of the road. The programme's own page stops at the upper lateral for Alameda and Albany without saying who has the rest; each of those cities says so itself. Alameda's sewer system management plan states that "the property owner owns the entire service lateral from the building to the connection to the City's sewer main; however, the City takes responsibility for maintenance and replacement of the lower portion of the lateral", and that "the upper lateral remains the responsibility of the private property owner" - the City rehabilitating a lower lateral when it rehabilitates the main it connects to, or when the lower lateral fails, whichever comes first. Albany takes the lower lateral too, from the kerb to the main; its own page for householders is the place to have that confirmed. So if you are in Alameda or Albany, the run under the road is the City's to keep up and the part across your own land is yours - ring the City before you ring a plumber. In Oakland, Emeryville and Piedmont the whole run is yours, and Piedmont's own plan puts the connection at the main on you as well. One caution for Alameda: the City's code still reads that "property owners own the entire sewer lateral and must maintain, repair and replace all sewer laterals associated with their parcels", which is broader than what its plan says the City does - the plan is the more recent statement of what the City will actually do, and the code has not caught up.

El Cerrito

Water · East Bay Municipal Utility District

EBMUD draws its line precisely: it repairs "leaks on the street side of the meter and ... the meter itself, including the threads on the customer's side of the meter", and everything past those threads is the customer's. In most of the East Bay that is the opposite shape to the sewer answer, where the owner's lateral runs all the way under the road to the main.

The water page for El Cerrito

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · East Bay Regional Private Sewer Lateral Program

The property owner is responsible for the entire lateral, upper and lower, from the home to the public main - except in Alameda and Albany, where the programme covers the upper lateral only.

What decides which applies

Which city you are in changes the answer, and in two of the five it changes it by the length of the road. The programme's own page stops at the upper lateral for Alameda and Albany without saying who has the rest; each of those cities says so itself. Alameda's sewer system management plan states that "the property owner owns the entire service lateral from the building to the connection to the City's sewer main; however, the City takes responsibility for maintenance and replacement of the lower portion of the lateral", and that "the upper lateral remains the responsibility of the private property owner" - the City rehabilitating a lower lateral when it rehabilitates the main it connects to, or when the lower lateral fails, whichever comes first. Albany takes the lower lateral too, from the kerb to the main; its own page for householders is the place to have that confirmed. So if you are in Alameda or Albany, the run under the road is the City's to keep up and the part across your own land is yours - ring the City before you ring a plumber. In Oakland, Emeryville and Piedmont the whole run is yours, and Piedmont's own plan puts the connection at the main on you as well. One caution for Alameda: the City's code still reads that "property owners own the entire sewer lateral and must maintain, repair and replace all sewer laterals associated with their parcels", which is broader than what its plan says the City does - the plan is the more recent statement of what the City will actually do, and the code has not caught up.

Emeryville

Water · East Bay Municipal Utility District

EBMUD draws its line precisely: it repairs "leaks on the street side of the meter and ... the meter itself, including the threads on the customer's side of the meter", and everything past those threads is the customer's. In most of the East Bay that is the opposite shape to the sewer answer, where the owner's lateral runs all the way under the road to the main.

The water page for Emeryville

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Escalon

In Escalon the property owner maintains the whole sewer lateral, from the building to the City's main, including the wye or saddle where it joins the main. Section 13.08.265 of the City's code provides that "The property owner shall maintain all sewer laterals, connection lines and appurtenances from the structure served by the sewer lateral to the main", and the code's definition of the sewer lateral includes the wye or saddle at the sewer main.

Escalon

Water · Escalon

Escalon maintains the water lines in the street and on its own easements, and the owner maintains the service line from the meter on. Section 13.04.280 provides that "The city will maintain all pipelines, laterals, and appurtenances within the city right-of-way, on city property or easements. It shall be the responsibility of all water users to maintain the water service line from, but not including the water meter to the outlets of the line, inclusive of city easements."

The water page for Escalon

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Escondido

The lateral is the owner's "from the house up to the point of connection with the public sanitary sewer main", and Escondido spells out the part people get wrong: that includes "the portion located beneath the sidewalk and street". The City maintains the mains and nothing else - and stamps an "S" into the kerb face where your lateral crosses it.

Escondido

Water · Escondido

The City owns the water meters and service pipes it installs, and maintains, repairs and replaces them against fair wear and tear. Section 31-31 provides that "All water meters and service pipes installed by the city shall remain at all times the property of the city and shall be maintained and repaired and removed by the city when rendered unserviceable through fair wear and tear".

The water page for Escondido

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Ross Valley Sanitary District

The property owner owns, maintains and repairs the entire lateral, from the building to and including the connection at the District main - and where the lateral is shared with other properties, the District allocates by position on the run, so the household furthest downstream carries the connection to the public sewer for everyone above it.

Fairfax

Water · Marin Municipal Water District

Marin Water owns and maintains the service line from the main to and including the meter. The pipe from the meter to the building is the property owner's.

The water page for Fairfax

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Farmersville

Farmersville makes the whole lateral the owner's, the wye connection to the main included. Section 13.08.010 provides that "The sewer lateral begins two feet outside a building and includes all sewer cleanouts and the wye connection. Sewer laterals are not part of the sanitary sewer system and the maintenance, repair and/or replacement of the lateral is solely the responsibility of the property owner."

Farmersville

Water · Farmersville

Farmersville owns and maintains the service connection and meter, and the customer keeps the line from the meter to the building. Section 13.04.280 provides that "All water service connections shall remain the property of the city. The expense of maintenance, repair, renewal or replacement of such services, meters, materials, and boxes due to normal wear and usage shall be borne by the city."

The water page for Farmersville

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Fillmore

Fillmore puts the sewer lateral on the owner. Section 12.08.100 provides that "Each lateral sewer shall be maintained by the owner of the property served thereby."

Fillmore

Water · Fillmore

In Fillmore the City's water department repairs the line from the main to the meter, and the owner repairs everything past the meter. Section 16.06.050 of the City's code provides that "The water department is responsible for repairs to the mains and lines from the mains to the meter serving the property. The user is responsible for any repairs of any lines or connections occurring from the meter onto private property."

The water page for Fillmore

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Fortuna

Fortuna's code puts the building sewer, the part from the building to the property line, on the property owner, and does not say who maintains the lateral under the street. Section 13.28.080 provides that "Building sewers shall be maintained by the owner of the property served thereby", and section 13.24.040 defines the building sewer as the part of a sewer beginning at the building's plumbing or drainage outlet "and running to the property line or to a private sewage disposal system."

Fortuna

Water · Fortuna

Fortuna repairs the water line from the main to the meter and nothing past it. Section 13.04.070 provides that "The city shall, at its own expense, make all repairs necessary to water mains, meters and pipelines connecting with water mains", and that "The city shall make no repair or do any work whatsoever on the water pipeline beyond the meter connection."

The water page for Fortuna

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Estero Municipal Improvement District

In Foster City the sewer lateral, including its connection to the main sewer, is the property owner's to maintain. The Estero Municipal Improvement District, whose sewer lines the City of Foster City's Public Works Department operates and maintains, provides in section 8.32.100 of its code that "Except as herein provided, building sewers, side sewers, and sewer lateral(s) which serve private property shall be maintained by the owner of the property served."

Foster City

Water · Estero Municipal Improvement District

In Foster City the Estero Municipal Improvement District owns the service connection from the main, and on a public street the owner's side begins at the meter. Section 8.12.070 of the District's code provides that "Customer water service facilities are the responsibility of the property owner to repair, replace and maintain, except in cases in which the property owner has a written agreement with the district." On a private street the District's own diagram leaves it only the meter itself.

The water page for Foster City

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Fountain Valley

Fountain Valley puts the whole lateral and its junction with the main on the owner. Section 14.36.067 provides that "All sewer laterals shall be maintained by the owner of the property served by such lateral in a safe and sanitary condition so that there is no seepage of waste at any point from the structure to and including the junction of the sewer lateral at the sewer main", and that "It shall be the responsibility of the city of Fountain Valley to keep the sewer mains free and clear for the even flow of sewage".

Fountain Valley

Water · Fountain Valley

The City supplies the water across the city and keeps the service and the meter as its own, with a repair duty attached. Section 14.16.120 provides that "All water services and water meters connected to the water system shall remain at all times the property of the city and shall be maintained, repaired and renewed by the water department when rendered unserviceable by normal wear and tear".

The water page for Fountain Valley

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Union Sanitary District

The property owner is responsible for the whole lateral, including the run beneath the pavement and the road, up to the point it joins the public main. The District's ordinance goes further than its web page and says the building sewer is owned by the property owner, not merely their responsibility. On a private street or driveway the sewer main itself can be private too, in which case somebody other than the District maintains that as well.

Fremont

Water · Alameda County Water District

The District owns and maintains the water service line from the main up to and including the meter. Everything past the meter is the property owner's.

The water page for Fremont

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Fresno

The property owner maintains and repairs the whole sewer lateral, and Fresno says so about the expensive part outright: the portion beneath the sidewalk and street, up to where it joins the public main. The City will come out and tell you whether the blockage is yours or its main - but if it is yours, it is yours to fix.

Fresno

Water · Fresno

The City maintains the water service from the main up to and including the meter, and the customer maintains the pipe from the meter to the house. That is the opposite of Fresno's answer about the sewer lateral under the same driveway, which is the owner's the whole way to the main.

The water page for Fresno

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Garden Grove

Garden Grove's municipal code has no sewer title at all. The answer is in the Garden Grove Sanitary District's Code of Regulations, whose section 4.10.120 provides that "all residential connections 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 all devices or safeguards which are required by this title for the operation thereof shall be maintained in good working order". The District puts the same thing in a reader's words on its own sewers page: "property owners are responsible for the maintenance, repair, and cleaning of the sewer lateral from the house to the public sewer system".

Garden Grove

Water · Garden Grove

The City supplies the water across the whole city and keeps the service and the meter as its own, with a repair duty attached. Section 14.20.060(A) provides that "All water services and water meters installed by the Public Works Department shall remain at all times the property of the City and shall be maintained, repaired, and renewed by the Public Works Department when rendered unserviceable by the normal wear and tear".

The water page for Garden Grove

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Gardena

The property owner maintains the sewer lateral, and in Gardena the code's own definition puts the run under the road on them explicitly: a "house lateral" here means the pipe from the property line to its connection with the main sewer. The City maintains the main and claims no part of the lateral.

Gardena

Water · Golden State Water Company, Southwest District

Golden State Water owns the service pipe, the curb stop, the meter and the meter box, and says plainly that it maintains them: "We maintain the pipes up to the water meter, but any leaks or issues beyond the meter are the responsibility of the property owner." The curb stop, which folklore treats as the boundary, is expressly the company's.

The water page for Gardena

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Glendale

The property owner pays to maintain the house connection, and in Glendale that means the run under the road: the code defines a house connection as the part "extending from the sewer main in a public street or right-of-way to private property", and makes the owner responsible for it "including the wye or saddle at the sewer main".

Glendale

Water · Glendale

Glendale Water & Power furnishes, installs and maintains every water service connection in the city - and the charges for putting one in are the property owner's. The meter is the department's, which owns and installs it. That is the opposite of Glendale's sewer answer, where the owner maintains the run under the road.

The water page for Glendale

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Goleta

In Goleta the owner owns and maintains the whole side sewer, from the building to the main. Section 13.03.080 of the City's code provides that "The owner of a property shall be responsible for ownership and maintenance of the side sewer (lateral sewer and building sewer) from the building connection to the public sewer line (sewer main) connection."

Goleta

Water · Goleta Water District

Goleta Water District lays the service pipe and sets the meter; everything past the meter is the customer's, to own and to maintain. Section 6.04.010 provides that the District "will furnish and install service pipe and meter of suitable capacity from its water mains to the curb line", and that piping on the customer side of the meter "shall be and shall remain the sole property of the customer and said customer shall be responsible for the maintenance and repair of said piping and appurtenances."

The water page for Goleta

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Half Moon Bay

Where the City of Half Moon Bay collects the sewage, the owner keeps the lateral all the way to the City's main, including the length under the street. Section 13.12.110 of the municipal code defines the lateral sewer as "the portion of a sewer located within a public street connecting a building sewer to the main sewer, the ownership, and responsibility for all maintenance, repairs and replacement of which lies with the owner of the property it serves". The City's 2026 sewer system management plan says the same from the other side: "the City does not own or have operation responsibilities for sewer laterals".

What decides which applies

Which body collects your sewage decides this, because two bodies collect sewage inside Half Moon Bay. The City's sewer page says the City "provides sewer collection service south of Frenchman's Creek to Miramontes Point Road", and that Granada Community Services District, formerly the Granada Sanitary District, serves "residents of the City of Half Moon Bay north of Frenchman's Creek". The District describes its own area as the unincorporated communities of El Granada, Miramar and Princeton-by-the-Sea "and the northern portion of the City of Half Moon Bay". The City's sections reach laterals that run to a City main. On the District's sewer the terms differ on the pipe nearest the street: the District's 2026 sewer system management plan says its Ordinance Code sets out "the District's responsibility for the section of service lateral between the clean-out and the District's mainline contingent upon the cleanout being accessible". The District's construction standards call for that cleanout on the lot, within five feet of the property line. So where the District collects and the cleanout can be reached, the plan makes the District responsible for the pipe from the cleanout to its main, and the owner keeps the pipe from the building to the cleanout. The plan does not say whether that responsibility extends to repair and replacement. If you live north of Frenchman's Creek, or are not sure which agency bills you for sewer service, ask the City or the District before pricing any work under the street.

Half Moon Bay

Water · Coastside County Water District

In Half Moon Bay, Coastside County Water District owns and maintains the service connection from its main to the meter, and the pipe past the meter is the customer's. The District's General Regulations define the service connection as "an assembly consisting of the District-owned pipeline from the water main to the outlet side of the water meter, the meter box, fittings, and water meter", and provide that "Said meters and service connections shall be maintained, repaired and renewed by the District when rendered unserviceable through ordinary wear and tear".

The water page for Half Moon Bay

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Hawaiian Gardens

Hawaiian Gardens writes no sewer ownership rule of its own and borrows the County's. Section 13.08.010 of its municipal code adopts Title 20, Utilities, Division 2 of the Los Angeles County Code as the City's sanitary sewer ordinance - the division "which may be amended from time to time by the County of Los Angeles to comply with new State permits", and which regulates "the use, operation, maintenance, and repair of the City sanitary sewer system". Inside that adopted division, section 20.24.080 provides that all house laterals "shall be maintained by the owner of the property served in a safe and sanitary condition", and section 20.20.130 defines a "house lateral" as "that part of the sewer piping within the street or right-of-way which extends from the property or sewer right-of-way line to a construction with the main-line sewer". The length the City's ordinance puts on the owner is the length under the road.

Hawaiian Gardens

Water · Golden State Water Company, Artesia System

Golden State Water owns the service pipe, the curb stop, the meter and the meter box, and says plainly that it maintains them: "We maintain the pipes up to the water meter, but any leaks or issues beyond the meter are the responsibility of the property owner." The curb stop, which folklore treats as the boundary, is expressly the company's.

The water page for Hawaiian Gardens

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Healdsburg

In Healdsburg the property owner repairs and replaces the whole private sewer lateral, from the building to the public main, including the part under the street. Section 13.20.465 of the City's code provides that "The owner shall perform all necessary repairs, including replacement, of all components of the private system (sewer lateral, sewer main, building sewer, etc.)". Routine maintenance is limited only where there is an accessible cleanout: the owner then maintains the lateral "up to the front property line, provided a cleanout accessible to maintenance forces is available."

What decides which applies

Repair and replacement run to the main in every case: section 13.20.465 requires the owner to "perform all necessary repairs, including replacement, of all components of the private system (sewer lateral, sewer main, building sewer, etc.)", and after an inspection finds the private sewer lateral defective, "All costs of repair or replacement of the private sewer main and/or private sewer lateral shall be borne by the property owner". What depends on the cleanout is routine maintenance. Where an accessible cleanout exists, the code limits the owner's maintenance to the lateral from the building "up to the front property line"; without one, the owner's maintenance also runs to the main. The City's Wastewater page says "Crews respond to service calls for blockage problems concerning the collection system and house service laterals from the main to the street line." That is the page's description of what City crews do, not a duty the code places on the City. Section 13.20.090 has repairs from the sewer to the property line made under the City's supervision "but at the cost and expense of the person, firm or corporation desiring the same to be done". These sections govern property on the City's sewer.

Healdsburg

Water · Healdsburg

Healdsburg installs and maintains the water service from the main to a shutoff valve just inside the curb line or sidewalk, and the owner repairs leaks on private property. Section 13.12.120 provides that "All water service pipes and connections to water mains within the City shall be installed and maintained by the City to a point inside the curb line or sidewalk where an approved shutoff valve shall be installed as near the water meter location as possible."

The water page for Healdsburg

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Hercules

In Hercules the service lateral is the owner's, all the way to the City's sewer. Section 5-4.05 of the City's code provides that "The service lateral shall be installed and maintained by the owner of the property served."

Hercules

Water · East Bay Municipal Utility District

EBMUD draws its line precisely: it repairs "leaks on the street side of the meter and ... the meter itself, including the threads on the customer's side of the meter", and everything past those threads is the customer's. In most of the East Bay that is the opposite shape to the sewer answer, where the owner's lateral runs all the way under the road to the main.

The water page for Hercules

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Imperial

Imperial puts the whole sewer service line on the owner, from the house to the main. Section 18-11 provides that "Individual sewer users are responsible for maintenance of individual service lines to the main line", and section 18-10 that the "Property owner is responsible for sewer service connections from the sewer service lateral from house to the main line."

Imperial

Water · Imperial

Imperial keeps title to water connections and meters and maintains them within the street. Section 23-3 provides that "Title to connections to the water system, including meters, shall remain in the city, and the city shall maintain and repair all connections and meters existing within the street lines of the city."

The water page for Imperial

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Coachella Valley Water District (sanitation)

Where Coachella Valley Water District collects the sewage, the whole lateral is the owner's to maintain, including the part under the street. The District's fact sheet says "Property owners are required to maintain the entire length of the Private Sewer Lateral, which extends from the property to the sewer main located in the street or a nearby easement."

Indian Wells

Water · Coachella Valley Water District

Coachella Valley Water District owns and maintains the service connection, through the shut-off valve just past the meter; the line from there to the house is the owner's. Section 3.05.060 provides that "The district owns, operates, and maintains the service connection. The property owner is responsible for the customer service line."

The water page for Indian Wells

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Jackson

Jackson puts the whole service lateral on the owner, including the part under the street. Section 13.20.155 provides that "All privately owned service laterals and private sewage disposal systems and appurtenances from all points of the property to the sewer main shall be maintained by the property owner or owners in a safe and proper operating condition".

Jackson

Water · Jackson

Jackson maintains the water service from its main to the meter box, and the pipe from the meter to the house is the customer's. The City's 2024 lead service line inventory records that ownership is split and that "Split is at the meter.", and describes "the customer's piping from the meter to the house".

The water page for Jackson

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Kerman

Kerman puts the whole lateral on the owner, the connection to the main included. Section 13.04.100 provides that "Sewer service to individual properties is provided from the sewer main only. The responsibility for the sewer lateral and its connection to the main from the city sewer main to the dwelling or structure remains the responsibility of the property owner."

Kerman

Water · Kerman

Kerman owns and maintains the service line to the meter, and the owner has the rest. The City's water page states that "The portion of the service line from the water main to the meter that is located within the public right of way is owned and maintained by the City. The service line from the meter to the house or building is owned and maintained by the property owner."

The water page for Kerman

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Central Contra Costa Sanitary District

The property owner is responsible for the whole lateral, from the building to Central San's sewer line in the street - and the District's code puts the fitting at the main inside that. The one thing it pays for is a reconnection its own work on the public sewer makes necessary.

Lafayette

Water · East Bay Municipal Utility District

EBMUD draws its line precisely: it repairs "leaks on the street side of the meter and ... the meter itself, including the threads on the customer's side of the meter", and everything past those threads is the customer's. In most of the East Bay that is the opposite shape to the sewer answer, where the owner's lateral runs all the way under the road to the main.

The water page for Lafayette

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Lancaster

The pipe is yours to the main, fitting and all: the code makes each owner responsible for "the entire house lateral up to and including the wye or tee in the city's main line", and defines that lateral as the part "within the street or right-of-way". If nobody can tell where a blockage is, Lancaster will dig to find out - and the answer decides the bill. Fault in the City's sewer is repaired "at no charge to the property owner"; fault in your lateral and you "shall reimburse the city for all costs necessarily incurred".

Lancaster

Water · Los Angeles County Waterworks District No. 40

In Lancaster, Los Angeles County Waterworks District No. 40 maintains the service connection, the meter and the meter box, and the customer owns and is responsible for everything past the meter. The Waterworks Districts' rules provide that "all service connections, water meters, and meter boxes shall be maintained at the Districts' expense", and that "The facilities located downstream of the meter outlet and outside of the meter box/vault are owned by and the responsibility of the customer."

The water page for Lancaster

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Larkspur

Larkspur is split between two sanitary districts, and if your lateral is your own it does not matter which one you are in: Ross Valley Sanitary District and Sanitary District No. 2 of Marin County both say the property owner has the whole lateral, including the connection to the sewer main. If your lateral is shared with another property it matters a great deal, because the two districts divide a shared pipe differently.

Larkspur

Water · Marin Municipal Water District

Marin Water owns and maintains the service line from the main to and including the meter. The pipe from the meter to the building is the property owner's.

The water page for Larkspur

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Lawndale

Lawndale writes no sewer ownership rule of its own. Lawndale Municipal Code section 13.04.010 adopts "Title 20, utilities, Division 2, sanitary sewers and industrial waste of the Los Angeles County Code, as adopted, amended and in effect on July 7, 2006" as the City's own sanitary sewer ordinance, and section 13.04.020 swaps the names in it - "county engineer" means the city engineer, "County of Los Angeles" means the city of Lawndale. Inside that adopted division the answer is plain: section 20.24.080 provides that all house laterals "shall be maintained by the owner of the property served in a safe and sanitary condition". What makes it worth reading twice is the division's definition of the thing being maintained. Section 20.20.130 says a "house lateral" is "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" - so the length the code puts on the owner is the length under the road.

Lawndale

Water · Golden State Water Company, Southwest District

Golden State Water owns the service pipe, the curb stop, the meter and the meter box, and says plainly that it maintains them: "We maintain the pipes up to the water meter, but any leaks or issues beyond the meter are the responsibility of the property owner." The curb stop, which folklore treats as the boundary, is expressly the company's.

The water page for Lawndale

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Lemon Grove

Lemon Grove puts the sewer lateral on the owner, including its connection to the main. Section 13.16.010 provides that "The installation, maintenance and operation of a lateral shall be the responsibility of the property owner including the lateral connection to the public collector main."

Lemon Grove

Water · Helix Water District

Helix Water District's line runs from its main to the meter, and the customer's private line from the meter to the building. The District's page on the lead and copper rule states that "Water service lines include the utility's water service line, which extends from the utility's water main to the water meter, and the customer's private water service line, which extends from the water meter to the customer's home or business."

The water page for Lemon Grove

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Livingston

Livingston puts the whole lateral on the owner, out to the main under the street. Section 9-6-32 provides that "The property owner shall be responsible for the maintenance of the complete lateral connection to the street sewer main, including the portion of such lateral placed in the public right-of-way or easement."

Livingston

Water · Livingston

Livingston draws the water line at the meter box. Section 9-5-17 provides that "The city's responsibility for all water service lines is from the connection at the city's main water line to the water meter box", and that "From the water meter box to the customer's premises is the sole responsibility of the customer to install, own, maintain and/or replace."

The water page for Livingston

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Loma Linda

Loma Linda puts the complete sewer lateral on the owner, from the house to the connection at the main. Section 13.17.030 provides that "Maintenance responsibility for the complete sewer lateral (from structure/dwelling to the joint or saddle) shall be borne by the property owner, pursuant to city of Loma Linda sewer lateral standard SS-3."

Loma Linda

Water · Loma Linda

Loma Linda maintains the water service connection from the main to the property line, meter included. Section 13.04.160 provides that "The service connections extending from the water main to the property line and including the meter, meter box and curb cock or ball valve, shall be maintained by the utility services division (water)."

The water page for Loma Linda

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Los Altos

The City pays for part of this pipe. The owner cleans and maintains the whole lateral from the house to the main, but reconstruction and repair of the street portion - beyond the first joint after the property line - is the City's - but the code makes that duty "subject to compliance with" its cleanout section, so the fitting is what the City's share rests on. A street-side blockage will usually be cleared by City crews, though the City calls that a courtesy rather than a duty. Cupertino Sanitary District also names Los Altos among the communities it serves, and answers the same question its own way.

Los Altos

Water · California Water Service, Los Altos Suburban District

The utility owns the service pipe, the curb stop, the meter and the meter box. The customer owns the piping past the meter - and the curb stop, which folklore treats as the boundary, is expressly the utility's.

The water page for Los Altos

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Los Angeles

The property owner is responsible for maintaining and repairing the entire private sewer lateral, which the City's code defines as running through the street to the public sewer. The City offers rebates towards inspecting and repairing it.

Los Angeles

Water · Los Angeles

Everything from the main to the meter is the City's property and is maintained at the Department's expense, including the part that crosses private land. Past the meter the pipe is the owner's to maintain - the Department says so on its own customer page, though its Rules only say where its side ends.

The water page for Los Angeles

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Los Banos

Los Banos puts the building sewer on the owner all the way to the public sewer, the connection included. Section 6-5.01 defines the building sewer as "the extension from the building drain to the public sewer or other place of disposal, including the connection to the public sewer", and section 6-5.03 provides that "All costs and expenses incident to the installation, connection, and maintenance of the building sewer shall be borne by the owner."

Los Banos

Water · Los Banos

Los Banos repairs the water line from the main to the meter and nothing past it. Section 6-7.17 provides that "The Water Department, at its own expense, shall make all the repairs necessary to water mains, meters, and pipelines connecting with water mains", and that "The Water Department shall make no repair or do any work whatsoever on water pipelines beyond the meter connection."

The water page for Los Banos

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Lynwood

Lynwood writes its own rule rather than borrowing the County's, and writes it in one sentence. Section 14-15.3 of the municipal code provides that "Sewer laterals between the buildings and the connection to the public sewer are owned and maintained by the property owner served by the lateral". Ownership and maintenance are assigned together, which is less common than it sounds - most codes assign one and leave the other to be argued.

Lynwood

Water · Lynwood

The City supplies the water and puts both the ownership and the repair duty in enacted law rather than on a webpage. Section 14-1.17 provides that "The city's responsibility for all water service lines is from the connection at the city's main water line to the water meter box", and that "From the water meter box to the customer's premises is the sole responsibility of the customer to install, own, maintain, and/or replace".

The water page for Lynwood

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Marina Coast Water District

In Marina the whole side sewer, from the building to the main, is the owner's to maintain. Marina Coast Water District's code provides that "Side sewers shall be maintained by the owner of the property served thereby."

Marina

Water · Marina Coast Water District

Marina Coast Water District owns the service connection and keeps it up, meter and box included, wherever it runs. Section 3.12.010 provides that "The service connection, whether located on public or private property, is the property of the district", and that "The service connection, including the meter and the meter box, will be repaired and maintained by the district at its expense, but the district is not responsible for the installation and maintenance of water lines beyond the end of its service connection."

The water page for Marina

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Merced

The user is responsible for the construction, maintenance and repair of the house or building sewer line, which the code defines as running all the way to the City's public sewer - the portion under the road included.

Merced

Water · Merced

The City furnishes the service from its main to one of three points - the property line, the curb line, or the back of the sidewalk - depending on where the main is and where the sidewalk sits. The owner furnishes, installs and maintains all the piping from there to the building.

The water page for Merced

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Mill Valley

The property owner maintains the whole lateral to the City main, expressly including the run within the right-of-way and the fitting where it branches off the main.

Mill Valley

Water · Marin Municipal Water District

Marin Water owns and maintains the service line from the main to and including the meter. The pipe from the meter to the building is the property owner's.

The water page for Mill Valley

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Milpitas

The user owns and maintains the house sewer - the portion of the pipe on private property, up to a cleanout at the property line. The run under the street is the City's, which the code requires it to hold full title to before it will provide service through it.

Milpitas

Water · Milpitas

The City owns and maintains the water service line from the main up to and including your meter. Yours is the pipe from the meter box to where it enters the building. Milpitas says so in its own words, and says the same thing again in the inventory it filed with the State.

The water page for Milpitas

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Modesto

The house sewer line is the owner's to build, maintain and repair - and in Modesto that reaches under the road, but stops short of the joint at the main. The City's packet defines the line as running from the building plumbing "to, but does not include, the connection at the City sewer main". The City also runs a cost-share programme for the part in the right-of-way, and will flush or inspect that part for free before you call a plumber.

Modesto

Water · Modesto

Modesto's water service stops in one of three places and which one is yours depends on your street: the property line if you are served from an alley, the curbline if the sidewalk runs along your property line, and the back of the sidewalk if the sidewalk runs along the curb. The owner furnishes, installs and maintains everything from there in - and has twenty-four hours to start fixing a leak once they know about it.

The water page for Modesto

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Monrovia

Monrovia puts the whole lateral and its junction with the main on the owner. Section 13.12.040 provides that "All sewer laterals shall be maintained by the owner of the property served by such lateral in a safe and sanitary operating 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".

Monrovia

Water · Monrovia

Monrovia's Utility Department owns and repairs the service connection, meter included, wherever it runs. Section 13.04.110 provides that "The service connection, whether located on public or private property, is the property of the city", and that "The service connection, including the meter and the meter box, shall be repaired and maintained by the Utility Department at its expense, except for damage caused by determinable negligence."

The water page for Monrovia

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Ventura County Waterworks District No. 1

In Moorpark the owner keeps the whole side sewer, the fitting at the main included. Ventura County Waterworks District No. 1's rules provide that "The owner shall be responsible for maintaining the side sewer from the building connection to the public sewer line connection", and that "All connections, including the wye or saddle at the sewer main and lateral, shall be maintained at the expense of the property owner."

Moorpark

Water · Ventura County Waterworks District No. 1

In Moorpark, Ventura County Waterworks District No. 1 keeps the service connection and the meter, and stops at the meter. Its rules provide that "All service connections, water meters, detector check valves, and housings installed by the District shall be maintained at its expense", and that "The District's control and responsibility shall end at the customer's side of the meter."

The water page for Moorpark

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Central Contra Costa Sanitary District

The property owner is responsible for the whole lateral, from the building to Central San's sewer line in the street - and the District's code puts the fitting at the main inside that. The one thing it pays for is a reconnection its own work on the public sewer makes necessary.

Moraga

Water · East Bay Municipal Utility District

EBMUD draws its line precisely: it repairs "leaks on the street side of the meter and ... the meter itself, including the threads on the customer's side of the meter", and everything past those threads is the customer's. In most of the East Bay that is the opposite shape to the sewer answer, where the owner's lateral runs all the way under the road to the main.

The water page for Moraga

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Morgan Hill

The lateral is the property owner's outright - expressly including the run across public rights-of-way and the connection into the city main - and the code says it is not part of the public sewer system.

Morgan Hill

Water · Morgan Hill

The City's side runs from the main to your meter and the meter is the City's. Yours begins at the coupling just past it. The code alone never says this - the City Engineer's own standard drawings do, and they label both sides.

The water page for Morgan Hill

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Mountain View

The whole pipe is yours, out to the City main. The code defines a sewer lateral as running "to the point of connection to the city-owned sewer main" and says "each sewer lateral is owned by and is the responsibility of the entity that owns the property". If you have a cleanout at your property line the City will clear a blockage in the outer half free - it calls that "a courtesy", not a share of the pipe. One caution: a different section of the same chapter says the City "will maintain and keep in repair every such service connection", and the code never reconciles the two.

Mountain View

Water · Mountain View

The pipe under the street is the City's, and so is the meter. Mountain View's code says "the water service connection is owned by the city" and defines that connection as "the water meter and piping system between the meter and the city water main"; a separate section provides that "the city will maintain and keep in repair every such service connection". Your side starts immediately downstream of the meter. One condition worth knowing: that duty holds only where the failure "was not caused by the improper act or omission of the owner or tenant served by such connection".

The water page for Mountain View

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · National City

National City puts the whole line on the owner, with a City service for blockages under the street. Section 14.06.160 provides that "The property owner is responsible for the building connection line from the house to the main", and section 14.06.170 that the building sewer and "the building connection serving such building sewer or drainage piping shall be maintained by the property owner."

National City

Water · Sweetwater Authority

Sweetwater Authority owns and is responsible for the lateral up to and including the meter, and the customer has everything after it. Its Rates and Rules provide that "The Authority retains ownership of and responsibility for the Authority's side of the lateral and the meter", and that "Generally, the Authority's side is from the water main in the street up to and including the water meter."

The water page for National City

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Union Sanitary District

The property owner is responsible for the whole lateral, including the run beneath the pavement and the road, up to the point it joins the public main. The District's ordinance goes further than its web page and says the building sewer is owned by the property owner, not merely their responsibility. On a private street or driveway the sewer main itself can be private too, in which case somebody other than the District maintains that as well.

Newark

Water · Alameda County Water District

The District owns and maintains the water service line from the main up to and including the meter. Everything past the meter is the property owner's.

The water page for Newark

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Newman

In Newman the property owner is responsible for the sewer line all the way from the house to the City's main in the street. The City's Public Works Department answers the question directly: "The sewer line from the house to the main line in the street is the responsibility of the property owner." Section 11.06.060(E) of the City's code provides that "All persons shall keep their house sewer connections in good order at their own expense".

Newman

Water · Newman

Newman's Water Department repairs the service up to the meter, and the consumer has everything past it. Section 11.05.110 provides that "The Newman Water Department shall, at its own expense, make all repairs necessary to water mains, meters and pipe lines connecting with water mains. The Water Department shall make no repairs or do any work, whatsoever, on water pipe lines, beyond the meter connection."

The water page for Newman

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Oakdale

Oakdale puts the sewer lateral on the owner all the way to the main. Section 28-5 provides that "The city shall maintain all city mains and appurtenances within public easements or on public property. The property owner shall maintain all laterals, connection lines and appurtenances for his premises to the main."

Oakdale

Water · Oakdale

Oakdale maintains the water lateral in the street and stops at the meter. Section 35-13 provides that "The city will maintain all mains, laterals, and appurtenances within the city right-of-way, on city property or easements. It shall be the responsibility of all water users to maintain the water service line from, but not including, the water meter to the outlets of the line, inclusive of city easements."

The water page for Oakdale

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · East Bay Regional Private Sewer Lateral Program

The property owner is responsible for the entire lateral, upper and lower, from the home to the public main - except in Alameda and Albany, where the programme covers the upper lateral only.

What decides which applies

Which city you are in changes the answer, and in two of the five it changes it by the length of the road. The programme's own page stops at the upper lateral for Alameda and Albany without saying who has the rest; each of those cities says so itself. Alameda's sewer system management plan states that "the property owner owns the entire service lateral from the building to the connection to the City's sewer main; however, the City takes responsibility for maintenance and replacement of the lower portion of the lateral", and that "the upper lateral remains the responsibility of the private property owner" - the City rehabilitating a lower lateral when it rehabilitates the main it connects to, or when the lower lateral fails, whichever comes first. Albany takes the lower lateral too, from the kerb to the main; its own page for householders is the place to have that confirmed. So if you are in Alameda or Albany, the run under the road is the City's to keep up and the part across your own land is yours - ring the City before you ring a plumber. In Oakland, Emeryville and Piedmont the whole run is yours, and Piedmont's own plan puts the connection at the main on you as well. One caution for Alameda: the City's code still reads that "property owners own the entire sewer lateral and must maintain, repair and replace all sewer laterals associated with their parcels", which is broader than what its plan says the City does - the plan is the more recent statement of what the City will actually do, and the code has not caught up.

Oakland

Water · East Bay Municipal Utility District

EBMUD draws its line precisely: it repairs "leaks on the street side of the meter and ... the meter itself, including the threads on the customer's side of the meter", and everything past those threads is the customer's. In most of the East Bay that is the opposite shape to the sewer answer, where the owner's lateral runs all the way under the road to the main.

The water page for Oakland

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Oceanside

The sewer lateral is the owner's out into the road. Oceanside's code puts the costs of installing, maintaining, replacing and permitting a house connection on the property owner, and defines that connection as "the service pipes from the private property line to the public sewer main or lateral in a public street, alley or easement" - so the length under the paving is yours. The City says the same in plainer words: "private sewer lines (from the street to your house) are the responsibility of the property owner". Your water line, by contrast, stops being yours at the meter.

Oceanside

Water · Oceanside

The meter is the line, and the City's code draws it from both sides: every meter the water department installs "shall remain at all times the property of the city", and past it the customer must fit a shut-off valve of their own, at their own expense. The City puts the same thing in plainer words for householders - "private water lines (from the meter to your house) are the responsibility of the property owner". What is unusual is that valve: you need one within three feet of the meter, because the one out at the kerb is the City's and is under its exclusive control.

The water page for Oceanside

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Central Contra Costa Sanitary District

The property owner is responsible for the whole lateral, from the building to Central San's sewer line in the street - and the District's code puts the fitting at the main inside that. The one thing it pays for is a reconnection its own work on the public sewer makes necessary.

Orinda

Water · East Bay Municipal Utility District

EBMUD draws its line precisely: it repairs "leaks on the street side of the meter and ... the meter itself, including the threads on the customer's side of the meter", and everything past those threads is the customer's. In most of the East Bay that is the opposite shape to the sewer answer, where the owner's lateral runs all the way under the road to the main.

The water page for Orinda

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Oxnard

The owner pays to maintain the lateral and the fitting where it meets the main. Oxnard's code is one sentence - "all connections, including the lateral, wye or saddle at the city's sewer, shall be maintained at the expense of the property owner" - and the City's own flyer draws it: the private sewer lateral "extends past the private property line and into the public right-of-way" and "includes the connection to the public sewer".

Oxnard

Water · Oxnard

In Oxnard the water service and the meter are the City's, outright: "all services and meters shall remain the property of the water division", and the division bears "the expense of maintenance, repair and renewal due to normal wear and tear". Damage caused by an act of yours - "careless or otherwise" - is charged back to you. That is the reverse of Oxnard's sewer answer, where the owner maintains the lateral and the fitting at the main.

The water page for Oxnard

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Pacifica

Pacifica puts the whole lateral - both halves and the connection to the main - on the owner. Section 6-13.602 provides that "It shall be the responsibility of the property owner to perform all required maintenance, repairs and replacement of the sewer lateral", and section 6-13.601 defines the sewer lateral as "the upper and lower sections of sewer pipe that carry sewage and liquid waste from the building or structure served, up to and including the connection to the public sewer".

Pacifica

Water · North Coast County Water District

North Coast County Water District maintains its system up to and including the meter, and customers maintain everything past it. The District's Board resolution on leak adjustments records that "the District generally is responsible for the repair and maintenance of its water distribution system up to and including the water meters installed to serve District customers".

The water page for Pacifica

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Coachella Valley Water District (sanitation)

Where Coachella Valley Water District collects the sewage, the whole lateral is the owner's to maintain, including the part under the street. The District's fact sheet says "Property owners are required to maintain the entire length of the Private Sewer Lateral, which extends from the property to the sewer main located in the street or a nearby easement."

Palm Desert

Water · Coachella Valley Water District

Coachella Valley Water District owns and maintains the service connection, through the shut-off valve just past the meter; the line from there to the house is the owner's. Section 3.05.060 provides that "The district owns, operates, and maintains the service connection. The property owner is responsible for the customer service line."

The water page for Palm Desert

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Paramount

Paramount writes no sewer ownership rule of its own and borrows the County's. Section 13.08.010 of its municipal code adopts "Title 20, Utilities, Division 2 of the Los Angeles County Code, commonly referred to as the Sanitary Sewers and Industrial Waste Ordinance as amended July 27, 1989" as the City's ordinance. Inside that adopted division, section 20.24.080 provides that all house laterals "shall be maintained by the owner of the property served in a safe and sanitary condition", and section 20.20.130 defines a "house lateral" as "that part of the sewer piping within the street or right-of-way which extends from the property or sewer right-of-way line to a construction with the main-line sewer". The length the City's ordinance puts on the owner is the length under the road.

Paramount

Water · Paramount

The City supplies the water, owns the service connection and meter, and says in its own code that it pays to maintain them. Section 13.04.260(C) provides that "All service connections, meters and valves, and housings installed by the City or conveyed to the City, however provided for, shall be the sole property of the City under the control of the City and will be maintained at the City's expense except as otherwise provided in these regulations".

The water page for Paramount

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Pasadena

The house sewer is the owner's from 24 inches outside the building to the main - and Pasadena closes the usual loophole by saying that a public sewer "does not include house sewer". The catch is in section 13.24.210: replace any part of the run between the curb and the main and you must replace all of it, to new-work standards.

Pasadena

Water · Pasadena

Pasadena Water and Power owns and maintains the water system "up to and including the water meter", and responsibility transfers where your private property connects to it. But if you ask PWP to replace the service lateral rather than repair it, the code makes you "pay the department's actual cost" - so the difference between reporting a fault and requesting a replacement is the difference between their bill and yours.

The water page for Pasadena

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Petaluma

Petaluma puts the whole lateral on the owner, the connection at the main included, and says the owner owns it through the City's right-of-way. Section 15.40.060 provides that "All sewer laterals are owned by the property owner to the sewer main and through the city right-of-way including the connection at the main. All sewer laterals shall be maintained by the property owner to prevent inflow and infiltration."

Petaluma

Water · Petaluma

Petaluma looks after the pipe from the main to the meter, and the owner has the pipe from the meter to the building. The City's answer to "Who is responsible for maintaining water service lines?" is that "The City of Petaluma is responsible for the public portion of the service lines (the pipes that go from the main line to your water meter) and property owners are responsible for the portion that goes from water meter to the home or building on the property."

The water page for Petaluma

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · East Bay Regional Private Sewer Lateral Program

The property owner is responsible for the entire lateral, upper and lower, from the home to the public main - except in Alameda and Albany, where the programme covers the upper lateral only.

What decides which applies

Which city you are in changes the answer, and in two of the five it changes it by the length of the road. The programme's own page stops at the upper lateral for Alameda and Albany without saying who has the rest; each of those cities says so itself. Alameda's sewer system management plan states that "the property owner owns the entire service lateral from the building to the connection to the City's sewer main; however, the City takes responsibility for maintenance and replacement of the lower portion of the lateral", and that "the upper lateral remains the responsibility of the private property owner" - the City rehabilitating a lower lateral when it rehabilitates the main it connects to, or when the lower lateral fails, whichever comes first. Albany takes the lower lateral too, from the kerb to the main; its own page for householders is the place to have that confirmed. So if you are in Alameda or Albany, the run under the road is the City's to keep up and the part across your own land is yours - ring the City before you ring a plumber. In Oakland, Emeryville and Piedmont the whole run is yours, and Piedmont's own plan puts the connection at the main on you as well. One caution for Alameda: the City's code still reads that "property owners own the entire sewer lateral and must maintain, repair and replace all sewer laterals associated with their parcels", which is broader than what its plan says the City does - the plan is the more recent statement of what the City will actually do, and the code has not caught up.

Piedmont

Water · East Bay Municipal Utility District

EBMUD draws its line precisely: it repairs "leaks on the street side of the meter and ... the meter itself, including the threads on the customer's side of the meter", and everything past those threads is the customer's. In most of the East Bay that is the opposite shape to the sewer answer, where the owner's lateral runs all the way under the road to the main.

The water page for Piedmont

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Pleasanton

Pleasanton keeps the trunk sewers and gives the owner both lengths of pipe that reach it. Section 15.32.100 provides that "The city shall maintain all trunk sewers. Maintenance of side sewers and service laterals shall be the responsibility of the property owner served by such sewers." Section 15.08.480 defines the service lateral as "the pipe between the trunk line and the user's side sewer connection at the edge of the street or easement".

Pleasanton

Water · Pleasanton

Pleasanton looks after the pipe from the main to the meter, and the owner has the pipe from the meter to the building. A January 2026 report to the City Council put it this way: "Traditionally, the City is responsible for infrastructure from the water main to the water meter, while property owners are responsible for infrastructure from the meter to the building."

The water page for Pleasanton

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Porterville

Porterville puts the house connection on the owner for its whole length. Section 25-43 provides that "The city will maintain all lines belonging to the city, but the property owners shall maintain all others including the house connection for its full distance from the main or lateral to the house or premises."

Porterville

Water · Porterville

Porterville does not maintain or repair the water pipe running from its meter to the property; that pipe is the consumer's. Section 25-13.1 provides that "The city shall not maintain or repair any water pipe from the meter or the premises served", and section 25-6 has the City make the connection by installing a meter, after which "the consumer, at his own cost, shall extend the pipe therefrom to his property."

The water page for Porterville

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Portola

Portola puts the sewer service connection on the owner from the main. Section 13.08.045 provides that "The service connection from the sewer main shall be installed and maintained by the property owner."

Portola

Water · Portola

Portola maintains the water service from its main to and including the meter, and the pipe beyond the meter is the owner's. Section 13.08.045 provides that "The city shall be responsible for, and maintain the water service connections from the water main to and including the water meter, the yoke, and if installed by the city, the compression fitting which connects the water meter to the service pipe."

The water page for Portola

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Cucamonga Valley Water District

The whole lateral is very likely yours, including the part under the road and the fitting where it joins the main. The District's 2025 Sewer System Management Plan defines a private sewer lateral as running "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", and says such laterals "are privately owned and maintained". Its customer FAQ puts it more narrowly - "from their property line to the house" - and names two fittings most authorities leave unsaid, the "clean out" and "back-water valve". The valve matters more than its size suggests: it "is installed to prevent any back up sewage in the district system from entering the customer's property", and inspecting and maintaining it is yours.

Rancho Cucamonga

Water · Cucamonga Valley Water District

The meter is the line and the two halves are stated separately. "The District is responsible for the water service line from the mainline in the street up to and including the water meter", and "water system customers are responsible for the water service line from the water meter to the house". One device on your side is called out by name: "if a pressure regulator is installed to adjust the water pressure on the property, the customer is responsible to perform periodic maintenance on this device."

The water page for Rancho Cucamonga

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Coachella Valley Water District (sanitation)

Where Coachella Valley Water District collects the sewage, the whole lateral is the owner's to maintain, including the part under the street. The District's fact sheet says "Property owners are required to maintain the entire length of the Private Sewer Lateral, which extends from the property to the sewer main located in the street or a nearby easement."

Rancho Mirage

Water · Coachella Valley Water District

Coachella Valley Water District owns and maintains the service connection, through the shut-off valve just past the meter; the line from there to the house is the owner's. Section 3.05.060 provides that "The district owns, operates, and maintains the service connection. The property owner is responsible for the customer service line."

The water page for Rancho Mirage

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Redlands

In Redlands the private sewer lateral runs from the building to the public sewer line, and it is the owner's to inspect, maintain, repair and replace. Section 13.44.160 of the City's code provides that "Each property owner shall, at the property owner's expense, inspect, maintain in good working order, repair and replace, as necessary, the PSL so that it does not cause or contribute to any sewage overflow from either the PSL or the public sewer."

Redlands

Water · Redlands

Redlands maintains the service from the water main up to and including the meter, and the owner has everything past it. Section 13.08.040 provides that "The services and connections extending from the water main to the meter and including the meter shall be maintained by the division. All pipes and fixtures extending from the meter or lying beyond the meter shall be installed and maintained by the owner of the property."

The water page for Redlands

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Reedley

Reedley puts the building sewer on the owner all the way to the main. Section 8-3-3 provides that "Building sewers between the building drains and the main sewer shall not be considered appurtenances to or part of the main sewer and the responsibility for maintenance of said building sewer shall be that of the owner or person in charge of the premises served by said building sewer."

Reedley

Water · Reedley

Reedley's code splits the water system at the City's meter. Section 8-1-13-4 provides that "The customer's system shall include any and all water infrastructure on the customer's side of the city's water meter", and section 8-1-7 that "Each consumer must keep his own service pipe, valves and faucets in order, free from leakage". The City's standard service drawings end the City's responsibility for a water service at the meter coupling.

The water page for Reedley

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Richmond

Check first whether your address is in Richmond Municipal Sewer District No. 1, because the ordinance "applies only within the sewer service areas" of that district and parts of the city are served by West County Wastewater District and Stege Sanitary District instead. Inside it, the whole pipe is yours including the joint: a private sewer lateral runs "from the structure(s) served to the sewer main", and "the property owner is also responsible for the connection to the sewer main". Richmond then writes down the condition the pipe must be in, and requires a Certificate of Lateral Compliance at sale, at subdivision, on a two-fixture remodel, and where the lateral is over fifteen years old or was laid without a permit.

Richmond

Water · East Bay Municipal Utility District

EBMUD draws its line precisely: it repairs "leaks on the street side of the meter and ... the meter itself, including the threads on the customer's side of the meter", and everything past those threads is the customer's. In most of the East Bay that is the opposite shape to the sewer answer, where the owner's lateral runs all the way under the road to the main.

The water page for Richmond

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Riverbank

Riverbank puts the whole lateral on the owner, the fitting on the main included. Section 51.09 provides that "A service lateral is a private facility. The property owner shall be responsible for constructing, repairing, and maintaining the entire sewer lateral between the building and the sanitary sewer main (including the lateral and building sewers, and the tap, saddle, or wye connection fitting at the sanitary sewer main)."

Riverbank

Water · Riverbank

Riverbank splits the water line at the meter and states both halves in one section. Section 52.06 provides that "The city will maintain all mains, laterals, and appurtenances within the city right-of-way, on city property or easements. It shall be the responsibility of all water users to maintain the water service line from, but not including the water meter, to the outlets of the line, inclusive of city easements."

The water page for Riverbank

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Ross Valley Sanitary District

The property owner owns, maintains and repairs the entire lateral, from the building to and including the connection at the District main - and where the lateral is shared with other properties, the District allocates by position on the run, so the household furthest downstream carries the connection to the public sewer for everyone above it.

Ross

Water · Marin Municipal Water District

Marin Water owns and maintains the service line from the main to and including the meter. The pipe from the meter to the building is the property owner's.

The water page for Ross

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Sacramento

The customer is responsible for the private sewer line "regardless of the cause", and the code says that line includes the portion under the public road. The department may unblock or repair the part nearest the main where there is an accessible cleanout, but it is not required to and doing so changes nothing.

What decides which applies

On the City's sewer nothing splits the pipe, and the Department has said so in its own words where the code left room to argue. Its sewer system management plan states that "per City Code 13.08.020, when a sewer main is located in a public right-of-way or easement, City crews are required to inspect, maintain and repair only the sewer mains and associated facilities", and that "services or laterals are considered private from the point of connection with the main to the private property and beyond". It adds, plainly: "the City does not own and is not responsible for maintenance of the lower laterals." So the run beneath the road is yours on both the code and the Department's own account of what its crews do. One limit on that plan, and it matters depending on where you live. It covers the SEPARATED sewer system only: "management, operation, and maintenance of the combined sewer system is not included as part of this audit since the SWRCB WDR does not currently require the inclusion of the combined sewer system in the SSMP". The combined system serves the older central city, so if your address is in that area these sentences are not about your pipe - ask the Department of Utilities which system serves you. Not every address in Sacramento is on the City's sewer, and where it is not, none of this applies. The Department's plan says that "Wastewater collection in the City of Sacramento is provided by both the City and the Sacramento Area Sewer District (SASD)", with the District's part of the system "primarily in the northwest and southeast sections of the City". If your address is served by SacSewer (the Sacramento Area Sewer District), its ordinance governs the lateral instead, and it keeps the length nearest the main. Where the District owns the main line it "is responsible for clearing stoppages and for inspecting, maintaining, and repairing the lower lateral, District cleanouts, manholes and main line", and the owner has "the sole responsibility for clearing stoppages, inspecting, maintaining, and repairing the upper lateral, including backwater valve". The divide is "typically, the responsibility delineation between the upper and lower lateral is at the District cleanout". Your sewer bill says which of the two collects from you; if it does not, ask the Department of Utilities.

Sacramento

Water · Sacramento

The City maintains the water line up to the point of service - normally the far side of the meter, but the right-of-way boundary where the meter sits on private land. Everything beyond that point is the customer's sole responsibility.

The water page for Sacramento

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Ross Valley Sanitary District

The property owner owns, maintains and repairs the entire lateral, from the building to and including the connection at the District main - and where the lateral is shared with other properties, the District allocates by position on the run, so the household furthest downstream carries the connection to the public sewer for everyone above it.

San Anselmo

Water · Marin Municipal Water District

Marin Water owns and maintains the service line from the main to and including the meter. The pipe from the meter to the building is the property owner's.

The water page for San Anselmo

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · San Bruno

The property owner owns the entire lateral, upper and lower, including the wye at the City main - though the City will clear and root-cut the lower section where a permitted cleanout exists.

San Bruno

Water · San Bruno

San Bruno says it plainly: "the City maintains everything up to and including the water meter", and "the property owner is responsible for all maintenance within the property". So your water line is the City's problem out to the meter and yours from there in. That is the reverse of your sewer lateral in this city, which you own the whole way to the main, wye and all.

The water page for San Bruno

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · San Carlos

It depends on one fitting. Put in an approved cleanout at your property line and get it accepted, and the City takes over the length from there out to the main - the part under the road, wye included. Without one, the whole lateral is yours.

What decides which applies

The cleanout is the whole question here, and it is worth money. A cleanout at or near your property line, installed to the City's standard detail and accepted by the City, moves the length from there to the main onto the City. No cleanout, and that length stays yours. The detail puts it no more than five feet from "property line or back of walk whichever is closer to sewer main", and specifies the materials and the box. If you are having lateral work done anyway, this is the thing to ask your contractor to include and the City to accept. Two further points from the code. It treats a pressure lateral differently: "the maintenance responsibility for a private pressure lateral to the City sewer main shall always remain with the property owner", with no cleanout exception. And for a gravity lower lateral the Director of Public Works "shall have the sole discretion to determine whether the private gravity lower lateral is acceptable" - so acceptance is a decision somebody makes, not something that follows automatically from installing the fitting. Ask what the City needs to see before you pay for the work.

San Carlos

Water · California Water Service, San Carlos system (Mid-Peninsula District)

The utility owns the service pipe, the curb stop, the meter and the meter box. The customer owns the piping past the meter - and the curb stop, which folklore treats as the boundary, is expressly the utility's.

The water page for San Carlos

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · San Dimas

San Dimas writes no sewer ownership rule of its own and borrows the County's. Section 14.08.010 of its municipal code adopts County Ordinance No. 89-0101, "as codified in Title 20, Division 2 of the Los Angeles County Code", which "is adopted as the San Dimas Sanitary Sewers and Industrial Waste Ordinance". Inside that adopted division, section 20.24.080 provides that all house laterals "shall be maintained by the owner of the property served in a safe and sanitary condition", and section 20.20.130 defines a "house lateral" as "that part of the sewer piping within the street or right-of-way which extends from the property or sewer right-of-way line to a construction with the main-line sewer". The length the City's ordinance puts on the owner is the length under the road.

San Dimas

Water · Golden State Water Company, San Dimas System

Golden State Water owns the service pipe, the curb stop, the meter and the meter box, and says plainly that it maintains them: "We maintain the pipes up to the water meter, but any leaks or issues beyond the meter are the responsibility of the property owner." The curb stop, which folklore treats as the boundary, is expressly the company's.

The water page for San Dimas

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · San Francisco

The owner owns the sewer lateral and is responsible for maintaining it - but where Public Works decides a repair is needed in the roadway, the City makes that repair itself, from the curb to the main, and budgets for it rather than billing the owner.

San Francisco

Water · San Francisco

Everything from the main to the meter is the Department's property, including the meter box, even though the applicant paid to install it. Past the meter is the customer's, and the rules say so in terms.

The water page for San Francisco

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · San Leandro

The lateral is the owner's the whole way, and San Leandro is unusually plain about the part under the road: plumbing and laterals "on both private property and within the public right-of-way" must be kept in working order, and service laterals "stretch from their home's connection all the way to the public sewer link". The City maintains the main and nothing else.

San Leandro

Water · San Leandro

San Leandro's water comes from EBMUD, and EBMUD draws its line precisely: it repairs "leaks on the street side of the meter and ... the meter itself, including the threads on the customer's side of the meter", and everything past that is the customer's. That is the opposite shape to the city's sewer answer, where the owner's pipe runs all the way under the road to the main.

The water page for San Leandro

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · West County Wastewater District

In San Pablo the whole lateral is the owner's, through the connection at the main. West County Wastewater District's code provides that "It is the responsibility of the property owner to maintain their building sewer in good condition in its entirety from the building served through the wye or point of connection with the public sewer, regardless of whether said building sewer is located in a public street, alley, easement or other location on or off of owner's property."

San Pablo

Water · East Bay Municipal Utility District

EBMUD draws its line precisely: it repairs "leaks on the street side of the meter and ... the meter itself, including the threads on the customer's side of the meter", and everything past those threads is the customer's. In most of the East Bay that is the opposite shape to the sewer answer, where the owner's lateral runs all the way under the road to the main.

The water page for San Pablo

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · San Rafael

Two sanitary districts serve San Rafael, and both say the sewer lateral is privately owned and the property owner's to maintain. San Rafael Sanitation District adds that this runs the entire length "including the portion that runs under the street". Which district you are in matters for other things - most of all for what happens when you sell.

What decides which applies

Which district serves your address decides more than one thing, and the districts ask you to check rather than assume: San Rafael Sanitation District advises that "there are two sanitation districts in the City of San Rafael and it's important that you confirm which district your property is located", pointing to its Service Area Map. The two agree that the lateral is the owner's. They do not agree about a sale - Las Gallinas Valley requires an inspection before close of escrow and San Rafael Sanitation does not - and Las Gallinas Valley runs a repair loan that San Rafael Sanitation does not offer. They also differ about the fitting where your pipe meets the main, and only one of them has written it down. Las Gallinas Valley's ordinance does: its section 601 provides that "sewer laterals shall be owned, maintained and repaired by the Owner of the property, which the Lateral serves", and that the whole run from the building connection to and including the wye connection or other tie-in at the sewer main "shall fall within the Owner's responsibility for installation, maintenance and repair". San Rafael Sanitation says the lateral runs the entire length under the street and stops there, without reaching the fitting either way - so in that half of the city the most expensive item on the pipe is simply not addressed, and the District is the place to settle it. One more thing if Las Gallinas Valley is your district. When it replaces its own main it will do some of your work at the same time: it "will replace the lateral-to-main connection fitting and will replace the lower lateral (up to the clean-out) if an agreement with the property owner has been reached". Ask about that before paying for the same work privately.

San Rafael

Water · Marin Municipal Water District

Marin Water owns and maintains the service line from the main to and including the meter. The pipe from the meter to the building is the property owner's.

The water page for San Rafael

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Santa Ana

The whole lateral is yours in Santa Ana - the ordinance says the upper and lower lateral together "shall remain the responsibility of the property owner or user", out to and including the join with the sewer main. The City's sewer enterprise "may" repair the lower lateral in the street, but only "at the discretion of the director of public works and so long as funds are available", so the part under the road is yours unless the City chooses otherwise.

Santa Ana

Water · Santa Ana

Santa Ana puts the meter "in the public right-of-way or a dedicated easement", and the code makes everything on the customer's side of it the customer's: you keep your service pipes "in good order" and "at your own expense", and "it is not the city's responsibility to locate or repair any water facility on the customer's side of the meter". So the run from your house out across the parkway to the meter is yours. The meter, meter box, curb stop and the City's fittings remain City property, and the City says that a leak on the street side of the meter is its own to fix.

The water page for Santa Ana

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Santa Clara

The whole pipe is yours, all the way to the City main, and the code says so in its definition: "each sewer lateral is owned by the entity that owns the property". No cleanout changes that. What a cleanout does change is what the City will do for you - with one at the property line, a City crew will check and clear the lower half at no charge; without one, the City says it "will not be able to assess the condition of the lower lateral to the main".

Santa Clara

Water · Santa Clara

Santa Clara owns the water service connection all the way to and including your meter - even where it crosses your own land under an easement - and its Rules say it "will be repaired and maintained by the City at its expense". Your side is everything past it, "regardless of the location of the meters". That is the opposite of your sewer lateral here, which is yours the whole way to the main.

The water page for Santa Clara

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Santa Clarita

Santa Clarita's sewer law is Los Angeles County's: the City "adopted ... by reference, as a sanitary sewer and industrial waste ordinance of the City of Santa Clarita ... Los Angeles County Code, Title 20, Utilities, Division 2". That code puts the length under the street on you. "All house laterals ... and appurtenances thereto ... shall be maintained by the owner of the property served in a safe and sanitary condition" - and a house lateral, as County Code section 20.20.130 defines it, is the piping in the street running from your property line to the main.

Santa Clarita

Water · Santa Clarita Valley Water Agency

Santa Clarita Valley Water Agency "owns, operates and maintains the Service Connection, up to and including the meter", and the property owner has the Customer Service Line after it. The divide is written to the fitting - the outlet of the shut-off valve just past the meter. Note that you pay for the service lateral and meter and the Agency still owns them; what that buys is the Agency keeping them up afterwards.

The water page for Santa Clarita

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz puts the whole lateral and its connection on the owner, and says the street length is included. Section 16.08.060 provides that "The property owner shall be responsible for the maintenance, repair and proper operation of the building sanitary sewer (sanitary sewer lateral) and/or private sanitary sewer collection system that connects the building(s) to the public sanitary sewer, including the connection, regardless of whether any part of the building sanitary sewer or private sanitary sewer collection system is located on private property or within the public right-of-way."

Santa Cruz

Water · Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz draws the line at the meter and states both halves, ownership and repair alike. Section 16.04.070 provides that "All service connection facilities (except fire services) located between the meter and the water main, including the meter, meter box, and other pipes and fixtures, whether located on public or private property, are the property of the city. The city is responsible for maintaining, repairing, and replacing such facilities."

The water page for Santa Cruz

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Santa Monica

The owner keeps the pipe from the property to the main, and in Santa Monica the code's own term for it names the part in the road: a "house connection sewer" is the pipe "constructed in a street, alley, walk or other public place or in a sewer easement". The City puts it plainly on its permit page - owners are responsible "from their property to the City's sewer main in the City street or alley".

Santa Monica

Water · Santa Monica

Santa Monica owns every water service and meter, pays to maintain, repair and renew them against normal wear, and sets the meters in the public right-of-way. Section 7.12.140(c) provides that "All services and meters shall be owned by the Utilities Division. The expense of maintenance repair and renewal due to normal wear and tear shall be borne by the Utilities Division".

The water page for Santa Monica

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Santa Paula

Santa Paula puts the whole lateral on the owner, the fitting on the main included, and says it is the owner's property too. Section 51.053 provides that "All lateral building sewers including that portion within public right-of-way and connections, including the wye or saddle at the sewer main, are owned by and maintained at the expense of the property owner."

Santa Paula

Water · Santa Paula

Santa Paula owns the water service and the meter, and pays for their ordinary wear. Section 52.026(C) provides that "All services and meters shall be owned by the city. The expense of maintenance repair and renewal due to normal wear and tear shall be borne by the city".

The water page for Santa Paula

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Santa Rosa

The entire sewer service lateral is the user's - "from, upon, within, and under user's premises and property and to the City sewer", cleanouts and backwater valves included. But Santa Rosa adds a clause: the City "may, in its sole discretion and at City expense, elect to perform occasional repairs" on the stretch between the main and the back of the curb or sidewalk. Discretion, not a duty - so ring the City before you ring a contractor.

Santa Rosa

Water · Santa Rosa

The City keeps the water line all the way to the meter: it "operates and maintains the pipe from the main up to and including the water meter", and "the customer's responsibility begins after the water meter". That is the opposite of Santa Rosa's sewer answer, where the entire lateral to the main is the user's - so the two pipes under one garden divide in different places.

The water page for Santa Rosa

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Sausalito-Marin City Sanitary District

The property owner maintains, repairs and replaces the whole lateral, running from two feet outside the foundation wall to the public main and including the connection.

Sausalito

Water · Marin Municipal Water District

Marin Water owns and maintains the service line from the main to and including the meter. The pipe from the meter to the building is the property owner's.

The water page for Sausalito

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Scotts Valley

Scotts Valley makes the lateral the owner's property and the owner's to maintain. Section 13.04.255 provides that "Sewer laterals shall belong to the property owner", and that "The property owner shall maintain all sewer laterals and appurtenances for his/her premises, and be responsible for any blockages therein."

Scotts Valley

Water · Scotts Valley Water District

Scotts Valley Water District owns and maintains the service connection - the pipe from the main and the meter - and the customer has everything past the meter. Section 1.30.010 of its Administrative Code provides that "The service connection will be repaired and maintained by the District at its expense", and section 4.50.010 that the customer is solely responsible "for maintenance and repairs of pipes and fixtures on the customer's side of the meter."

The water page for Scotts Valley

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Selma-Kingsburg-Fowler County Sanitation District

In Selma and Kingsburg the lateral is split at the property line for repairs, but the owner keeps the whole pipe clean. The Selma-Kingsburg-Fowler County Sanitation District's ordinance provides that "Repair and replacement of service laterals in the public right of way is the responsibility of the District. Any maintenance and cleaning of the complete service lateral is the property owner's responsibility."

Selma

Water · California Water Service, Selma District

The utility owns the service pipe, the curb stop, the meter and the meter box. The customer owns the piping past the meter - and the curb stop, which folklore treats as the boundary, is expressly the utility's.

The water page for Selma

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Shasta Lake

Shasta Lake puts the building sewer on the owner all the way to the main. Section 13.16.470 provides that "Building sewers shall be maintained by the owner of the property served thereby to the point of connection with the sewer main."

Shasta Lake

Water · Shasta Lake

Shasta Lake maintains the water system up to and including the meter, and the owner has everything past it. The City's public works answer to "Where does the City's maintenance responsibility for the water system stop?" is that "The City is responsible for maintaining the water distribution system up to and including the water meter. All service plumbing between the meter and the residence or business is the responsibility of the property owner."

The water page for Shasta Lake

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Sierra Madre

Sierra Madre puts the whole house connection on the owner, out to the main. Section 13.12.230 provides that "All house sewer connections, soil pipes and appurtenances thereto between the main-line sewer and the building or structure being served, now existing or hereafter constructed, shall be maintained by the owner of the property served in a safe and sanitary condition".

Sierra Madre

Water · Sierra Madre

Sierra Madre owns the water service pipe, meter and fittings it installs from its main to within your property line, and its water department runs and repairs the City's water system. Section 13.04.080 provides that "All such pipe, meters, boxes, and lids, shut-off valves and backflow protection devices shall remain the property of the city." Nothing the City publishes says who repairs the pipe beyond them.

The water page for Sierra Madre

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Signal Hill

Signal Hill writes no sewer ownership rule of its own and borrows the County's. Section 13.06.010 of its municipal code adopts Division 2 of Title 20 of the Los Angeles County Code, "as adopted, amended and in effect on July 27, 1989", as the Sanitary Sewer and Industrial Waste Code of the city. Inside that adopted division, section 20.24.080 provides that all house laterals "shall be maintained by the owner of the property served in a safe and sanitary condition", and section 20.20.130 defines a "house lateral" as "that part of the sewer piping within the street or right-of-way which extends from the property or sewer right-of-way line to a construction with the main-line sewer". The length the City's ordinance puts on the owner is the length under the road, and the City's own answer to the question is short: "Sewer laterals are the responsibility of the property owner."

Signal Hill

Water · Signal Hill

Signal Hill owns and keeps up the service connection and the meter, and the customer's side begins past the meter. Section 13.04.070 provides that "All service connections and all water meters installed by the department shall at all times remain the property of the city", and section 13.04.220 requires every consumer to install, "for his ordinary usage and at his own expense, a shutoff valve on the property side of the meter."

The water page for Signal Hill

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Simi Valley

The whole run is yours, building to main - "the owner is 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" - and Simi Valley adds a sentence most codes leave out: "it is a violation of this chapter if the owner does not maintain these systems in proper working order." A neglected lateral is not only a bill here; the code names it a breach, and the chapter's enforcement article declares any violation of it a public nuisance.

Simi Valley

Water · Simi Valley

The water answer in Simi Valley is the opposite of the sewer one, on the same property. Ventura County Waterworks District No. 8, whose ordinance is printed in the City's own code, states plainly that "the District has jurisdiction and maintains the water system up to and including the water meter that provides service to a property", and that "all piping beyond the water meter, including backflow prevention assemblies, shall be the responsibility of the customer". So the District carries the service line to and including the meter, while the City's sewer chapter carries none of the lateral. One address, two utilities, and the line drawn in two different places.

The water page for Simi Valley

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Solana Beach

Solana Beach puts the whole lateral on the owner, from the main to the house. Section 14.04.100 provides that "The property owner serviced by a sewer lateral shall be responsible for cleaning, maintaining and repairing the sewer lateral between the sewer main and the lateral connection to the structure."

Solana Beach

Water · Santa Fe Irrigation District

Santa Fe Irrigation District owns and maintains the line from its main to the meter, and stops there. Section 11.3 of its Administrative Code provides that "Water meters and laterals to meters from the District's distribution lines are the property of the District. All lines and facilities beyond the meter are the property and the responsibility of the property owner."

The water page for Solana Beach

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Torrance

The owner keeps the lateral from twelve inches outside the building to the main, and the City says the joint is theirs too: owners are responsible for their lateral "including the connection to the public sewer main". Torrance then splits the permit at the property line, so a repair that crosses it needs two.

Torrance

Water · Torrance

Whichever utility bills you in Torrance, the pipe from the main to the meter is theirs. Torrance Municipal Water's own code has the service "installed from the distribution main to a point adjacent to the nearest property line" and says it "shall remain the property of and shall be maintained, repaired and renewed by the City"; California Water Service, which serves portions of the city, states in its tariff that the service pipe, curb stop, meter and meter box are the utility's property. Your side starts after the meter.

The water page for Torrance

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Union Sanitary District

The property owner is responsible for the whole lateral, including the run beneath the pavement and the road, up to the point it joins the public main. The District's ordinance goes further than its web page and says the building sewer is owned by the property owner, not merely their responsibility. On a private street or driveway the sewer main itself can be private too, in which case somebody other than the District maintains that as well.

Union City

Water · Alameda County Water District

The District owns and maintains the water service line from the main up to and including the meter. Everything past the meter is the property owner's.

The water page for Union City

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Vacaville

Vacaville rewrote its lateral rules in 2026 and states the whole answer in one subsection, fitting included. Section 13.08.110(B)(1) puts the entire lateral, from the building connection up to and including the wye or other tie-in at the main, on the owner - it "shall fall within the owner's responsibility for installation, maintenance, repair, and replacement". The same subsection adds that "Any work within the public right-of-way shall require a city encroachment permit".

Vacaville

Water · Vacaville

The City's duty runs to a defined point of service, and everything past it is yours. Section 13.12.250 provides that "The city's responsibility to operate, maintain, and repair public water mains shall extend only to the point of service", and that "The operation, maintenance, and repair of any private water line connected to the point of service shall be the customer's sole responsibility".

The water page for Vacaville

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Weed

Weed puts the house connection on the owner all the way to the public sewer. Section 14.08.180 provides that "The individual owner (or owners) of a premises is (and are) directly responsible for the costs of construction, maintenance, repairs and replacement of the individual house connection sewer or industrial connection sewer to the lateral sewer, collecting sewer or main line sewer."

Weed

Water · Weed

Weed owns and maintains the service up to and including the meter's outlet, and the customer owns everything past it. Section 14.04.100 provides that "The city shall own, operate, and maintain all water mains, valves, hydrants, service connections, meters, meter boxes, and appurtenant system components up to and including the outlet side of the water meter. All pipelines, fixtures, devices, and appurtenances located beyond the meter shall be owned, installed, maintained, and repaired at the sole cost and risk of the customer."

The water page for Weed

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Woodland

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

What decides which applies

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

Woodland

Water · Woodland

Woodland puts the water piping on private property, up to the meter, on the property owner, and keeps the meter and the couplings that attach it. The City's Water Services FAQ states that "The property owner is responsible for all of the water piping on their private property. This includes all the water piping inside the building and the underground water service to the meter."

The water page for Woodland

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Woodside

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

What decides which applies

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

Woodside

Water · California Water Service, Bear Gulch District

The utility owns the service pipe, the curb stop, the meter and the meter box. The customer owns the piping past the meter - and the curb stop, which folklore treats as the boundary, is expressly the utility's.

The water page for Woodside

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Yreka

In Yreka the property owner maintains the whole sewer lateral to the City's main, including the connection to it. Section 12.16.035(d)(1) of the City's code provides that "The property owner at property owner's expense shall maintain all sewer laterals and private sewers", and names among them "the connection to a city sanitary sewer main".

Yreka

Water · Yreka

Yreka maintains the water system up to the meter, and the property owner owns the line from the meter to the house. The City's water page states that "The Maintenance Division maintains the water mains from the tanks on the hills to the water meter near each property" and that "The property owner owns the line from the output side of the meter, the side closest to a house."

The water page for Yreka

the two pipes disagree

Sewer · Yuba City

Yuba City puts the whole lateral on the owner and spells out the part people assume is public. Section 6-5.206 provides that "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, properly maintain, and repair", 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".

Yuba City

Water · Yuba City

Yuba City states both halves of the water line in two consecutive sentences. Section 6-6.08 provides that "The City is responsible for all piping and equipment up to and including the water meter and check valve. The property owner is responsible for all equipment, piping, and appurtenances downstream of the water meter and check valve."

The water page for Yuba City

both authorities take a share

Sewer · Albany

The City pays for the part under the road. The owner has the upper lateral - from the property out to the curb cleanout, or the curb line where there is no cleanout - and the City states it "is responsible for the maintenance and repair of lower laterals, sewer mains and manholes", counting those laterals among its own assets.

What decides which applies

The seam is the curb cleanout where one exists and the curb line where none does, so the fitting marks the boundary rather than deciding whether the City helps at all - which is how West Valley, Cupertino Sanitary District and Los Altos each use theirs. An owner with no cleanout is not handed the whole run; the line simply falls at the curb. Note also that the East Bay Regional Private Sewer Lateral Program, which covers Albany, states that the owner is responsible for the entire lateral. On this point the City's own statement is the one about Albany.

Albany

Water · East Bay Municipal Utility District

EBMUD draws its line precisely: it repairs "leaks on the street side of the meter and ... the meter itself, including the threads on the customer's side of the meter", and everything past those threads is the customer's. In most of the East Bay that is the opposite shape to the sewer answer, where the owner's lateral runs all the way under the road to the main.

The water page for Albany

neither takes on its pipe; one holds title only

Sewer · Anaheim

The whole sewer lateral is the property owner's, and Anaheim says so about the expensive part in the same breath as its water answer: "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" - including the run under the street. The City keeps the public sewer line in the street.

Anaheim

Water · Anaheim

The City owns the water service line, the curb stop and the meter - even where they sit on your land, and even though for an ordinary house connection you are the one who pays to put them in. What is yours starts just past the meter outlet.

The water page for Anaheim

neither takes on its pipe; one holds title only

Sewer · Apple Valley

Apple Valley puts the whole lateral on the owner in one sentence. Section 10.01.050 provides that "The owner of any property connecting to the local sewer collection system shall be required to maintain the sewer lateral from their building or structure to the sewer main at their own expense", and that "The Town's responsibility shall be limited to maintenance of main sewers and manholes."

Apple Valley

Water · Liberty Utilities (Apple Valley Ranchos Water)

In Apple Valley, Liberty Utilities owns the service pipe, curb stop, meter and meter box it installs, and the customer lays and keeps in repair the piping from the meter to the house.

The water page for Apple Valley

neither takes on its pipe; one holds title only

Sewer · West Bay Sanitary District

The property owner owns the whole side sewer, from the building to the District's main - though the District may clear a blockage in the part under the road where the property has a conforming cleanout.

Atherton

Water · California Water Service, Bear Gulch District

The utility owns the service pipe, the curb stop, the meter and the meter box. The customer owns the piping past the meter - and the curb stop, which folklore treats as the boundary, is expressly the utility's.

The water page for Atherton

neither takes on its pipe; one holds title only

Sewer · Avalon

In Avalon the private sewer lateral belongs to the property owner all the way to the public sewer, including the wye or saddle where it joins. Section 6-7.303 of the City's code provides that "The private sewer laterals are the property of the property owner and are not part of the public sewer", and that each owner shall, at the owner's expense, "inspect, maintain in good working order, repair, rehabilitate and replace, as necessary, the private sewer lateral".

Avalon

Water · Southern California Edison, Santa Catalina Island Water

In Avalon, Southern California Edison owns the service pipe, the curb stop, the meter and the meter box. The customer lays and keeps in repair the piping from the service connection to the house.

The water page for Avalon

both authorities take a share

Sewer · Benicia

Benicia takes on the street length of the lateral, but only when three conditions hold. Section 13.60.050 provides that "The owner shall maintain the building sewer and all other sewage facilities located on his property", and that "The city shall maintain lateral sewers if all of the following conditions are met" - the lateral built to City requirements and approved for maintenance, an accessible approved cleanout near the property boundary, and room to work without damaging private property.

What decides which applies

The City's half depends on three things, and all three must hold. Section 13.60.050 requires that "There is an approved cleanout located within five feet of the property boundary and the cleanout is accessible", that the lateral was built to City requirements and approved for maintenance, and that "Normal maintenance work can be conducted without moving or damaging private property." Where they do not, "the owner of the property served by the lateral sewer shall maintain it" - so an older lateral with no cleanout at the boundary is the owner's all the way to the main. Whatever the case, "In no event is the city responsible for damage or inconvenience resulting from stoppage or other malfunction of a side sewer." Look for a cleanout near your front property line before deciding whose a blockage is.

Benicia

Water · Benicia

Benicia's Water Distribution crews maintain the City's water service connections and meters. The City's Maintenance Division page states that "Personnel maintain approximately 150 miles of water mains, 9,610 service connections and meters, and 1,449 hydrants." Nothing the City publishes says where a service connection ends or who repairs the customer's pipe from there to the building.

The water page for Benicia

both authorities take a share

Sewer · Berkeley

The City maintains the lower lateral, from the curb out to the main. The owner maintains only the run from the curb to the building - and nothing is conditional on a cleanout.

Berkeley

Water · East Bay Municipal Utility District

EBMUD draws its line precisely: it repairs "leaks on the street side of the meter and ... the meter itself, including the threads on the customer's side of the meter", and everything past those threads is the customer's. In most of the East Bay that is the opposite shape to the sewer answer, where the owner's lateral runs all the way under the road to the main.

The water page for Berkeley

neither takes on its pipe; one holds title only

Sewer · Buellton

In Buellton the whole sewer connection is the property's to maintain, from the building to the City's sewer main, including the fitting on the main. Section 14.08.012 of the City's code provides that "All connections, including the lateral, wye or saddle at the city's sewer, shall be maintained at the expense of the user of the connection", and section 14.16.120 that "Side sewers, including the horizontal piping beginning at the building drain of any building and terminating in the main sewer, shall be maintained by the owner of the property served thereby."

Buellton

Water · Buellton

Buellton owns the service connection, from the main through the meter and meter box, and the customer keeps up the equipment beyond it. Section 13.40.010 provides that "The service connection, whether located on public or private property, is the property of the city, unless specifically otherwise provided, and the city reserves the right to repair, replace and maintain it". Meters "will be installed at the back of the sidewalk or within the easement".

The water page for Buellton

neither takes on its pipe; one holds title only

Sewer · Burlingame

Burlingame leaves the whole side sewer with the owner unless the City has chosen to take on the street length. Section 15.10.032 provides that "The city shall not be responsible for maintenance or repair of any lateral sewer unless the lateral sewer conforms to all of the requirements of this chapter and other applicable city regulations and the city has expressly determined to provide this maintenance or repair."

What decides which applies

The street length can be the City's, but only if two things are both true: the lateral meets the City's current requirements, and the City has expressly decided to maintain it. Neither is visible from the street, so ask the City before assuming it will clear or repair the part beyond the cleanout. On a sale of an older property the lateral must also be tested and repaired before title passes (section 15.12.110). These sections govern property on the City's sewer; check the name on your sewer bill if you are not sure the City serves you.

Burlingame

Water · Burlingame

Burlingame's code vests in the City the water service from the main through the meter box. Section 15.04.040 provides that "The ownership of this water service installation including the meter, and complete service from main through the meter box shall be vested in the city of Burlingame." The City's water rate answers add that "Repairs of the leaks on the property are the customer's responsibility", without saying where the customer's pipe begins.

The water page for Burlingame

neither takes on its pipe; one holds title only

Sewer · Carmel Area Wastewater District

In Carmel-by-the-Sea the private lateral runs to and includes its connection at the District's main, and the owner maintains it. Carmel Area Wastewater District's code provides that "Building laterals shall be maintained by the owner of the property served."

Carmel-by-the-Sea

Water · California American Water, Monterey

The utility owns the service pipe, the curb stop, the meter and the meter box. The customer lays and keeps in repair the piping from the meter to the house.

The water page for Carmel-by-the-Sea

both authorities take a share

Sewer · Carpinteria Sanitary District

In Carpinteria, Carpinteria Sanitary District maintains the lateral under the street, from the property line to the main, where there is a cleanout at the property line, and the owner has the building sewer from the building to that point. The District's answer is that it "provides maintenance and repair of main sewers and lateral sewers within the public right of way, provided there is an accessible and serviceable cleanout at the property line", and that "Maintenance and repair of the building sewer, cleanout and point-of-connection to the District lateral are the responsibility of the property owner."

What decides which applies

The District's part depends on the cleanout: "It is the responsibility of the property owner to install a clean-out at the property line to allow the District to maintain the lateral." Where none was built when the property was connected, the District says the current owner will be required to build one. Its pages do not say it maintains a lateral that has no accessible cleanout, so if yours has none, ask the District before assuming the part under the street is its to fix. When a backup happens, the District will inspect the main and, if it can reach it, the lateral, free of charge.

Carpinteria

Water · Carpinteria Valley Water District

Carpinteria Valley Water District operates and maintains the service line from the main up to and including the meter, and the customer has everything after it. The District states that "CVWD operates and maintains the pipe from the main up to and including the water meter. Our customer's responsibility begins after the water meter and continues through the property and into any buildings."

The water page for Carpinteria

neither takes on its pipe; one holds title only

Sewer · Chico

The property owner owns the sewer lateral and maintains it all the way from the building to the City's main, at their sole cost - the portion under the street included, and the fitting where it joins the main with it. The water line in that same street belongs to California Water Service.

Chico

Water · California Water Service, Chico District

The utility owns the service pipe, the curb stop, the meter and the meter box. The customer owns the piping past the meter - and the curb stop, which folklore treats as the boundary, is expressly the utility's.

The water page for Chico

both authorities take a share

Sewer · Coachella

Coachella keeps the street length of the house connection itself. Section 13.01.256 provides that the house connection sewer "shall be maintained and repaired by the city's utilities department from the point of connection with the sewer main line to the property line closest to the sewer main".

Coachella

Water · Coachella

In Coachella the City owns the water service connection and the meter, its utilities department maintains them, and the code ends the department's side at the meter. Section 13.03.205 of the City's code provides that "All water service connections, meters and housings installed by the department or conveyed to the department, however provided for, shall remain at all times the property of the city and shall be maintained, repaired and renewed by the department when rendered unserviceable through reasonable use." The code does not say who repairs the pipe beyond the meter.

The water page for Coachella

neither takes on its pipe; one holds title only

Sewer · Colma

In Colma the side sewer - the whole lateral, from the building to the main sewer - is the owner's to maintain. The Town's code provides that "Side sewers shall be maintained by the owner of the property served thereby."

Colma

Water · California Water Service, South San Francisco system (Bayshore District)

The utility owns the service pipe, the curb stop, the meter and the meter box. The customer owns the piping past the meter - and the curb stop, which folklore treats as the boundary, is expressly the utility's.

The water page for Colma

neither takes on its pipe; one holds title only

Sewer · Costa Mesa

Costa Mesa Sanitary District answers this more completely than most, and it answers the two things that usually go unsaid. Section 6.02.020 of its Operations Code provides that "the property owner shall maintain the lateral that connects to District's sewer main, including any portions that may lie within the public right of way or Costa Mesa Sanitary District easement". And the definition settles where that run ends: a lateral "is that entire underground pipe structure including the connection between the sewer main and the structural improvements on private property and shall include both the portion on private property and the portion in the public or District right of way". So the length under the road is yours, and so is the joint at the main.

Costa Mesa

Water · Mesa Water District

Mesa Water District owns the service connection through the meter, and the customer has everything past the customer control valve. Its Rules and Regulations provide that "Mesa Water's Point of Ownership shall end at the outlet side of the Customer Control Valve", and that "Mesa Water assumes no responsibility for the maintenance or operation of the Customer's Water System or facilities beyond the Point of Ownership."

The water page for Costa Mesa

neither is recorded as taking any part

Sewer · Dana Point

In Dana Point the sewer lateral is the property owner's to maintain all the way to the main sewer under the street. The City's utilities page says the sewer system in the city "is owned, operated and maintained by the South Coast Water District", and the District's board resolved in March 2000 that "property owners shall be responsible for the maintenance of the sewer lateral line to the point of connection with the District's collector sewer". The District's wastewater page puts it the same way: property owners are responsible for "the entire length of their lateral line from their home or business to where it meets and connects to the sewer main under the street." The District's sewer infographic settles the joint itself: it labels the lateral as the property owner's responsibility and says that includes the connection.

What decides which applies

Nothing splits the lateral between the District and the owner. The District's 2025 sewer system management plan says so directly: "The District is not responsible for any portion of the customer laterals." Its section on laterals adds: "Currently the District does not own any portion of the customer sewer lateral." The same board resolution asks owners to tell the District in advance of any repair or cleaning of the lateral, whether they do the work themselves or hire a contractor, and, after emergency work that could not wait, to tell the District immediately afterwards so that it can deal with the material and debris that reaches its sewer. If you are unsure whether a pipe under the street is yours, ask South Coast Water District before work starts. One part of the city may not be the District's. Along Dana Point's northern edge, next to Laguna Niguel, a few neighbourhoods get their water from Moulton Niguel Water District, and South Coast Water District's own maps of its service area stop short of them. Moulton Niguel runs a sewer system of its own, and this page does not have Moulton Niguel's own rules for laterals, so it cannot say where your responsibility ends there. If your water bill comes from Moulton Niguel, check whose name is on your sewer charge before relying on this page.

Dana Point

Water · South Coast Water District

South Coast Water District puts the whole water line on your side of its meter on you. Its rates ordinance provides that "The property owner is responsible for the entire water line connection on the structure (i.e., customer) side of the District's meter, including, but not limited to, any and all pressure regulators, valves, and connections."

The water page for Dana Point

neither takes on its pipe; one holds title only

Sewer · Del Mar

Del Mar puts the whole lateral on the owner, under the street as well. Section 22.08.090 provides that "The property owners serviced by a sewer lateral shall be responsible for the maintenance of that lateral. The City shall not maintain the sewer lateral between the street main and the structure."

Del Mar

Water · Del Mar

Del Mar's code makes the water pipes laid in its streets City property. Section 21.04.190 provides that "All water pipes which have been approved by the Department, laid in streets, alleys or other public thoroughfares within the City, shall become the property of the City", unless an encroachment permit approved by the City Council provides otherwise. Nothing the City publishes says who repairs the pipe from the meter to the building.

The water page for Del Mar

both authorities take a share

Sewer · Galt

Galt splits the lateral by kind of work rather than by length. Section 14.10.100 provides that "it is the responsibility of the property owner, at the owner's expense, to maintain the sewer service lateral from the premises to the City owned and operated main line. Such maintenance shall include the removal of tree roots and other blockages", and that "The City will repair damaged and deteriorated lateral lines in the City right-of-way at the City's expense, unless such damage was caused by the property owner."

Galt

Water · Galt

Galt puts the water lateral up to the City's box on the owner and keeps the repair of the street length itself. Section 13.08.100 provides that "it is the responsibility of the property owner, at the owner's expense, to maintain the water service lateral from the premises to the City owned service connection box", and that "The City will repair damaged and deteriorated lateral lines in the City right-of-way at City expense, unless such damage was caused by the property owner."

The water page for Galt

neither takes on its pipe; one holds title only

Sewer · Gonzales

In Gonzales the building sewer, which runs from the building drain to the public sewer, is kept at the property's own cost. Section 10.16.170(E) of the City's code, headed "Costs Borne by Owner", provides that "All costs and expenses of the extension of mains and the installation, connection, and maintenance of the building sewer shall be borne by the user."

Gonzales

Water · Gonzales

Gonzales owns the service connection and the meter, and is not responsible for any pipe past them. Section 10.04.030 provides that "Title to the meter, service pipes and appurtenances used in providing a water service connection is in the city", and that "The city shall not be responsible for the installation or maintenance of any water pipelines beyond the end of the city's service connection or beyond its meter."

The water page for Gonzales

both authorities take a share

Sewer · Gridley

Gridley splits the lateral by kind of trouble. Section 13.04.150 provides that "The owner or occupant of any premises shall be responsible for any blockage occurring in the building sewer (sewer lateral) serving said premises, from the building fixtures to the sewer main. The City will only be responsible for the structural integrity of that portion of the building sewer (sewer lateral) located within a public street or alley."

Gridley

Water · Gridley

Gridley's Public Works staff maintain the City's water system out to its customers and replace leaking service lines between the main and the meter. The City's Public Works page states that their duties "include repair of leaking service lines by replacement from the main to the water meter". Nothing the City publishes says who repairs the pipe beyond the meter.

The water page for Gridley

neither takes on its pipe; one holds title only

Sewer · Guadalupe

Guadalupe puts the building sewer lateral on the owner, from the building to the public main. Section 13.12.050 provides that "Any person owning or controlling any premises connected to the public sewer shall keep all building sewer laterals and fixtures in good working order and repair at all times, at his or her own expense."

Guadalupe

Water · Guadalupe

Guadalupe owns the water connection up to and including the meter, and the owner has everything past it. Section 13.08.055 provides that "All connections up to and including the meter shall at all times remain the property of the City, and all connections beyond the meter toward the occupancy shall be the sole responsibility of the property owner or occupant, both as to the original installation and as to maintenance and upkeep."

The water page for Guadalupe

neither is recorded as taking any part

Sewer · Hillsborough

Hillsborough treats the whole lateral as private property, the length under the street and the connection to the main included. Section 13.33.030 of the municipal code defines a sewer lateral as "the privately owned pipeline that carries sewage and liquid wastes from the structure or structures served", running "to and including the connection to the sewer main, manhole or sewer main cleanout, including any portion under streets or within public rights-of-way", and section 13.33.060 provides that "the property owner shall remain responsible for ongoing maintenance of the entire lateral down to and including the connection to the sewer main."

Hillsborough

Water · Hillsborough

In Hillsborough the pipe that carries water from the Town's meter to the house is the owner's to repair, and the meter is the Town's. Section 13.32.110 of the Town's code provides that "any water pipeline and connection to the town's meter which pipeline or connection has become damaged or deteriorated shall be repaired by and at the cost and expense of the property owner" whose property it serves. The same section requires that pipeline to be tested for leaks before a property is sold. Nothing the Town publishes says who repairs the pipe between the main and the meter.

The water page for Hillsborough

neither takes on its pipe; one holds title only

Sewer · Hughson

In Hughson the property owner is responsible for the building sewer all the way to the City's sewer, the connection to it included. Section 13.04.450 of the City's code provides that "The owner of any premises shall be responsible at his own expense for the installation, maintenance, repair, and cleaning out of the building sewer and cleanout, including the connection to the public sewer, for the premises owned by him."

Hughson

Water · Hughson

Hughson's code treats the customer water service facilities as the City's, and puts the customer's own valve and equipment on the customer's side of the service. It does not say in terms who repairs the service pipe. The code defines a service as "the pipeline and appurtenant facilities such as the curb stop, meter and meter box, if any, all used to extend water service from a distribution main to premises."

The water page for Hughson

both authorities take a share

Sewer · Huntington Beach

The City pays for the run under the road. Huntington Beach Municipal Code § 14.54.035(C) provides that the "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", and 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". The City took ownership of that portion in January 2008. Your side is the part across your own land.

Huntington Beach

Water · Huntington Beach

Huntington Beach owns the water service and the meter and keeps them up - the code says they "shall remain at all times the property of the City and shall be maintained, repaired and renewed by the City Water Department when rendered unserviceable by normal wear and tear". But the meter sits "at the curb line of the street", and the City "shall not be responsible for any leakage, breakage or seepage for any pipe situated between any meter properly installed at the curb and the private premises". That run is yours.

The water page for Huntington Beach

neither takes on its pipe; one holds title only

Sewer · Imperial Beach

Imperial Beach puts the building sewer and the lateral under the street on the owner, up to the City's saddle on the main. Section 13.04.040 provides that "All persons whose premises are connected to the public sewer shall be responsible for the installation, maintenance and upkeep of the building sewer and the sewer lateral to the point where the lateral attaches to the saddle connection on the public sewer or sewer main."

Imperial Beach

Water · California American Water, Coronado

The utility owns the service pipe, the curb stop, the meter and the meter box. The customer lays and keeps in repair the piping from the meter to the house.

The water page for Imperial Beach

both authorities take a share

Sewer · Irvine Ranch Water District

For a house, the property owner's pipe stops at the property line: Irvine Ranch Water District makes owners responsible for "sewer pipes within a building and upper sewer laterals that lead from a building to the edge of its property line", and owns and maintains the sewer pipelines beyond it, with no cleanout condition attached. In a condominium complex or a townhome development the answer is the opposite - the District's Rules put "all laterals upstream of the main line" on the owner "to maintain, repair, or reconstruct", and the District's own share starts at the main line cleanout.

What decides which applies

WHAT KIND OF HOME YOU LIVE IN DECIDES THE ANSWER. Section 4.15.2 of the District's Rules is headed "Sewer - Single Family Units"; section 4.15.3, "Sewer - Multi-Dwelling Units (Condominium Complexes and Townhomes)", reverses it. There, "maintenance of onsite sewer main lines shall be the responsibility of the District up to the main line cleanout or last manhole", and "all laterals upstream of the main line are the responsibility of the applicant, owner or customer to maintain, repair, or reconstruct" - so a condominium owner rebuilds their own lateral where a house owner does not, and the District's share begins at a cleanout rather than at a property line. Even that much is conditional: those onsite mains qualify only where the facilities "must be fully dedicated to the District, including proper easements, and approved by the Manager or his designee". A commercial or industrial property under 4.15.4 falls on whichever side its plumbing does - one lateral connection and it is read like a house, an onsite collection system and it is read like a condominium. AND FOR A HOUSE, the property line divides who REBUILDS the pipe and does not divide who clears it. That distinction is not on the District's public page and it is in its Rules, so it is the thing most likely to surprise an Irvine owner with a blockage under the road. Rules and Regulations section 4.15.2, for single family units, provides that "the applicant, owner, or customer is responsible for maintenance of the upper lateral and lower lateral" and that "any upper lateral or lower lateral shall be cleared and cleaned by the applicant, owner, or customer at his own expense" - then splits the heavier work, with "the upper lateral ... the responsibility of the owner to repair or reconstruct" and "the lower lateral ... the responsibility of the District to repair or reconstruct". So a collapsed pipe beyond your boundary is the District's to rebuild and a blocked one is yours to rod, and the page that says the District owns and maintains the pipelines does not tell you the second half. The section opens "unless otherwise specified on an approved IRWD Construction plan", so a newer development may differ. Beyond that, nothing conditions the property line itself - in several other districts the authority's half does not begin until there is an accessible cleanout, and here it begins anyway. Two practical notes from the District: do not plant trees or shrubs near the lateral, "because root intrusion can damage lines", and perform periodic cleaning and inspection of your own upper lateral. Note also that IRWD serves all of Irvine but only parts of Lake Forest, Newport Beach, Tustin, Costa Mesa and Orange, so an address in one of those towns needs its provider confirmed before this answer is relied on.

Irvine

Water · Irvine Ranch Water District

Irvine Ranch Water District owns the water service line and the meter, and its Rules charge for "the installation of and perpetual maintenance" of them. Your building water line starts at "the downstream end of the water meter tailpiece" and everything from there into the house is yours. Note that the same District answers differently for your sewer lateral, where your pipe runs all the way to the property line.

The water page for Irvine

both authorities take a share

Sewer · Long Beach

Long Beach maintains the sewer pipe under the street. Its code makes the owner responsible for the building sewer and then, "notwithstanding" that, has the Water Department maintain the house connection from the property line to the main - including the wye or saddle at the main, and with no cleanout condition attached.

Long Beach

Water · Long Beach

The Department owns the water service connection including the meter and meter box, "whether located on public or private property", and maintains, repairs and renews it at its own expense. The shut-off valve in the meter box is to be operated only by Department personnel.

The water page for Long Beach

both authorities take a share

Sewer · South Placer Municipal Utility District

South Placer Municipal Utility District splits the lateral at the property line. The owner has the upper lateral on private property - "The upper lateral is privately owned and maintained." - and the District has the lower lateral under the public right-of-way, with the property line cleanout, which its code calls "The publicly owned clean out".

Loomis

Water · Placer County Water Agency

Placer County Water Agency keeps its system up to the point where it delivers the water. Its rules provide that "The Agency shall be responsible for operating, maintaining, and replacing all portions of the water system up to the Point of Delivery to the customer", and define that point as "The location where the Agency delivers service and privately owned facilities begin."

The water page for Loomis

neither takes on its pipe; one holds title only

Sewer · Marysville

In Marysville the owner owns the whole sewer service lateral, including its connection at the City's main. The code provides that laterals connecting a user to a city-owned sewer 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."

Marysville

Water · California Water Service, Marysville District

The utility owns the service pipe, the curb stop, the meter and the meter box. The customer owns the piping past the meter - and the curb stop, which folklore treats as the boundary, is expressly the utility's.

The water page for Marysville

both authorities take a share

Sewer · Eastern Municipal Water District

The pipe is yours end to end - "all completed Sewer Service Laterals shall remain the property of the Customer" - and the stretch under the street carries two different duties. You maintain it: "maintenance of Lower Sewer Laterals shall be the responsibility of the Customer." The District repairs it: "repair of Lower Sewer Laterals shall be performed by the District at the District's expense" - except where the repair was needed "as a result of root intrusion and/or debris from Customer's property, or other repairs needed that were contributed to by the Customer", as the District determines.

What decides which applies

The split here is not where the pipe runs but what is being done to it, and getting that round the right way is worth real money. On the stretch under the street, maintenance is yours and repair is the District's at the District's expense. So a blockage you clear is your bill and a broken pipe the District replaces is not - up to a point. The exception is the part to read twice, because it swallows the commonest cause of lateral failure there is: the District's repair duty does not apply where the work "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", and it is the District that determines whether that applies. There is also a rule about how you may do your own half of the work: maintenance activity "shall be performed outside of the roadbed, within the parkway unless performed under the direction of the District" - so the verge, not the carriageway, unless the District is directing it. And if your building sits too low to drain by gravity, section 6.203 puts the pump station on you to finance, construct, own and maintain. There is one arrangement in which none of that applies and the whole pipe is yours, and it turns on where the main is rather than on anything about the property. Section 6.104(q)(2) provides that "if a Sewer Service Lateral connects to a rear or side yard Sewer Pipeline that is located in a District easement, or to a District manhole, the entire Sewer Service Lateral, including the connection to the Sewer Pipeline, is an Upper Sewer Lateral". There is then no lower lateral at all, so the District's repair duty in section 6.202(b)(2) never engages, and section 6.202(b)(3) puts maintenance and repair of the entire run on the customer. Rear-easement mains are ordinary in tract subdivisions of a certain age, and a reader on one of them has the most expensive version of this answer while their neighbour across the street has the cheapest. Which one you are on is a question for the District about your address.

Menifee

Water · Eastern Municipal Water District

Eastern Municipal Water District owns the water service connection from its main to and including your meter, and its Administrative Code says "the expense of maintenance, repairs, and renewal of such service connections and meters, due to normal wear and tear, shall be borne by the District". Your side starts at the meter: "water pipes and appurtenances downstream of the meter are the property of the customer who is responsible for water use, operation and maintenance." Note that the same District answers the opposite way for your sewer lateral, which is yours the whole way to the main.

The water page for Menifee

both authorities take a share

Sewer · Millbrae

The owner maintains the whole lateral as a general rule - but where a conforming cleanout exists near the curb or the main, the City maintains the section from that cleanout to the main.

What decides which applies

a cleanout within two and a half feet of the curb, the edge of the pavement, or the city main

Millbrae

Water · Millbrae

The City is responsible for the water main, the meter, and the service line between them. The customer is responsible for the plumbing from the meter into the building.

The water page for Millbrae

neither takes on its pipe; one holds title only

Sewer · Montague

Montague puts the private lateral on the owner up to the property line, including its connection there. Section 13.22.060 provides that "It is the responsibility of the property owner to maintain the private lateral up to and including its connection at the property line."

Montague

Water · Montague

Montague owns the water service connection wherever it lies and reserves the right to repair it, and nothing the City publishes says where the owner's side begins. Section 13.04.130 provides that "The service connection, whether located on public or private property, is the property of the city, and the city reserves the right to repair, replace and maintain it".

The water page for Montague

neither takes on its pipe; one holds title only

Sewer · Monterey

Monterey puts the whole lateral on the owner, under the street and up to and including its connection to the main. Section 30-1.2 provides that "The property owner shall be responsible for the maintenance, repair, and proper operation of the sanitary sewer lateral and/or private sanitary sewer collection system, regardless of whether any part of the sanitary sewer lateral or private sanitary sewer collection system is located on private property or within the public right-of-way."

Monterey

Water · California American Water, Monterey

The utility owns the service pipe, the curb stop, the meter and the meter box. The customer lays and keeps in repair the piping from the meter to the house.

The water page for Monterey

both authorities take a share

Sewer · Moreno Valley

Two agencies collect sewage in Moreno Valley. The City's MoVal 2040 draft environmental impact report says "Wastewater service in the Planning Area is provided by two agencies: EMWD provides collection and treatment for most of the city", while the Edgemont Community Services District "serves a 430-acre area in the western portion of the city that includes the Edgemont neighborhood". For Eastern Municipal Water District customers the lateral is the owner's pipe all the way to the main: the District's Administrative Code says "All completed Sewer Service Laterals shall remain the property of the Customer", and the length under the street "includes the connection to the Sewer Pipeline". The owner keeps all of it clear, and the District repairs the length under the street at its own expense unless, as the District determines, roots or debris from the property caused the damage or the owner otherwise contributed to it. In the Edgemont district the dividing point is a cleanout at the property line where there is one; without one the owner keeps the whole lateral clear to the main, as set out below.

What decides which applies

First, which agency collects your sewage. The City's report places the Edgemont Community Services District's part of the city "generally located north of Alessandro Boulevard, east of Interstate 215 (I-215), south of Eucalyptus Avenue, and west of Elsworth Street", and that District publishes a boundary map of its own. Eastern Municipal Water District collects from most of the rest of the city and publishes its sewer service area as a map. Second, if you are an Edgemont customer, whether there is a cleanout at your property line: the District's Ordinance No. 277 makes it responsible for the length from that cleanout to its main, and leaves the whole lateral to the owner where there is none. The ordinance adds that an owner whose lateral was connected without a property-line cleanout is responsible for installing one, and the District's sewer lateral policy of January 2016 describes the owner's upkeep as including regular cleaning, root treatment and, if necessary, replacing the lateral. Third, if Eastern Municipal Water District collects, where your main runs. The District's code provides that "If a Sewer Service Lateral connects to a rear or side yard Sewer Pipeline that is located in a District easement, or to a District manhole, the entire Sewer Service Lateral, including the connection to the Sewer Pipeline, is an Upper Sewer Lateral", so there is no lower lateral for the District to repair and the whole run, repairs included, is yours. If you are not sure which agency serves your address, check whose name is on your sewer charge before any work is priced.

Moreno Valley

Water · Eastern Municipal Water District

Eastern Municipal Water District owns the water service connection from its main to and including your meter, and its Administrative Code says "the expense of maintenance, repairs, and renewal of such service connections and meters, due to normal wear and tear, shall be borne by the District". Your side starts at the meter: "water pipes and appurtenances downstream of the meter are the property of the customer who is responsible for water use, operation and maintenance." Note that the same District answers the opposite way for your sewer lateral, which is yours the whole way to the main.

The water page for Moreno Valley

neither takes on its pipe; one holds title only

Sewer · Norco

Norco puts the whole private lateral on the owner, with two exceptions the City pays for. Section 14.07.410 provides that "The maintenance of the private service lateral shall be the sole responsibility of the property owner. The private service lateral shall extend from building to the point of connection at the public sewer main."

Norco

Water · Norco

In Norco the service connection from the main, meter included, belongs to the City's Water Utility, and the pipe from there to the building is the customer's to lay and repair. The City's water rules, in section 14.04.160 of its code, require the customer to "Furnish and lay the necessary piping to make the connection to the place of consumption and shall keep such piping in good repair".

The water page for Norco

neither is recorded as taking any part

Sewer · Novato Sanitary District

In Novato the side sewer, from the building to the main, is the owner's. Novato Sanitary District's code provides that "Side sewers shall be maintained by the owner of the property served thereby." The District's lateral guidance adds that the lateral runs "to and including the connection to the public sewer main in the street" and is "the private property of the property owner".

Novato

Water · North Marin Water District

North Marin Water District puts everything from its meter onward on the consumer. Regulation 10 provides that "The consumer shall, at his risk, furnish, install, maintain, repair and retain ownership and control over the pipes and water receiving equipment leading from the outlet of the District's water meter".

The water page for Novato

neither takes on its pipe; one holds title only

Sewer · Pacific Grove

In Pacific Grove the lateral is the owner's property all the way to the main. Section 9.20.030 of the City's code provides that "All laterals from the building wall to the connection to the sewer main are the property of the owner of the connected building."

Pacific Grove

Water · California American Water, Monterey

The utility owns the service pipe, the curb stop, the meter and the meter box. The customer lays and keeps in repair the piping from the meter to the house.

The water page for Pacific Grove

both authorities take a share

Sewer · Palo Alto

It depends on whether you have a City sewer cleanout, and where it is. With one, Palo Alto owns and maintains the lateral "from the Wastewater Main up to and including the first City Sewer Cleanout" and you own the rest to your building. Without one - or if it is inaccessible, or if the cleanout is yours and sits "more than 5 feet behind the property line" - you own "the entire Sewer Lateral between the City's Wastewater Main and the building".

What decides which applies

Three things, and you can change one of them. First, whether a City Sewer Cleanout exists on your lateral; the standard place for one is the planting strip. Second, whether it is accessible - the regulation puts "Keeping the Sewer Cleanout boxes visible and accessible" on the Customer's own list of duties, so a cleanout buried under a hedge is a cleanout that has stopped dividing the pipe. Third, where it is: if the cleanout is the Customer's rather than the City's and sits "more than 5 feet behind the property line", the City's half does not begin at all. The one you can change is the first. Where there is no City cleanout the City may install one, and "once a new City Sewer Cleanout is installed and operational, the City will own the Lower Sewer Lateral between the Wastewater Main and the new City Sewer Cleanout". Refusing that installation has a price: the Customer then "will remain solely responsible for the inspection, maintenance, repair, and upgrade of the entire Sewer Lateral". Two situations sit outside all of this. If the City's main is in a Public Utility Easement on private property, the whole lateral is the Customer's from the main connection inward. And if your lateral branches off the City's lower lateral rather than reaching the main itself, the tee or wye and everything above it is yours.

Palo Alto

Water · Palo Alto

The City's utility maintains the water service "from, and including, the Water Meter located near the street curb, up to and including the Water main", and everything downstream of the meter is yours. That is the opposite end of the run from your sewer lateral, which the same utility makes yours all the way to the main unless there is a City cleanout. One more thing worth knowing before you remodel: a project over $200,000 can oblige you to replace the City's own side of the service.

The water page for Palo Alto

neither takes on its pipe; one holds title only

Sewer · Palos Verdes Estates

Palos Verdes Estates writes no sewer ownership rule of its own either. Section 13.14.010 of its municipal code adopts "Title 20, Utilities, Division 2, Sanitary Sewers and Industrial Waste, of the Los Angeles County Code as amended and in effect on January 2, 2020" as the City's sanitary sewer and industrial waste ordinance, and section 13.14.020 renames the parties in it - "County engineer" means the city engineer, "County of Los Angeles" means the city of Palos Verdes Estates. Inside that adopted division, section 20.24.080 provides that all house laterals "shall be maintained by the owner of the property served in a safe and sanitary condition", and section 20.20.130 defines a "house lateral" as "that part of the sewer piping within the street or right-of-way which extends from the property or sewer right-of-way line to a construction with the main-line sewer". The length the City's ordinance puts on the owner is the length under the road.

Palos Verdes Estates

Water · California Water Service, Palos Verdes system

The utility owns the service pipe, the curb stop, the meter and the meter box. The customer owns the piping past the meter - and the curb stop, which folklore treats as the boundary, is expressly the utility's.

The water page for Palos Verdes Estates

both authorities take a share

Sewer · Parlier

Parlier puts the lateral on the owner out to the main, but pays for street repairs unless the owner, the occupants or tree roots caused them. Section 13.40.080 provides that "Property owners and consumers are responsible for repairing and maintaining the laterals connecting their premises to the public sewer mains", and that, unless the owner, the occupants or trees and roots made the repair necessary, "all repair work in the public right-of-way shall be at the expense of the city."

Parlier

Water · Parlier

Parlier draws the water line the way it draws the sewer lateral: the owner's out to the main, with the City paying for street repairs unless the owner, the occupants or tree roots caused them. Section 13.10.250 provides that "Property owners and water consumers are responsible for repairing and maintaining the laterals connecting their premises to the public water mains", and that, unless the owner, the occupants or trees and roots made the repair necessary, "all repair work performed within the public right-of-way shall be at the expense of the city."

The water page for Parlier

both authorities take a share

Sewer · Patterson

Patterson splits the sewer lateral at the property line: the owner keeps the building sewer on the private side, and the City maintains the lateral sewer in the street - once there is a cleanout at the property line. The code provides that "Building sewers shall be maintained by the owner of property served hereby. Lateral sewer will be maintained by the city."

What decides which applies

The City's side depends on a cleanout. Every property must have a cleanout at the property line, and "If a cleanout is not available at property line, the city shall not be responsible for maintenance of the sewer lateral until such time as a cleanout meeting city standards is installed at property line at the request of the property owner." Without one, the City is not responsible for maintaining the lateral until a cleanout meeting City standards is installed at the owner's request.

Patterson

Water · Patterson

Patterson maintains the service line up to and including the meter, and the customer has everything after it. The City's lead service line inventory page states that "The city operates and maintains the pipe from the main up to and including the water meter. The customer's responsibility begins after the water meter and all the pipes downstream going towards the home."

The water page for Patterson

both authorities take a share

Sewer · Eastern Municipal Water District

The pipe is yours end to end - "all completed Sewer Service Laterals shall remain the property of the Customer" - and the stretch under the street carries two different duties. You maintain it: "maintenance of Lower Sewer Laterals shall be the responsibility of the Customer." The District repairs it: "repair of Lower Sewer Laterals shall be performed by the District at the District's expense" - except where the repair was needed "as a result of root intrusion and/or debris from Customer's property, or other repairs needed that were contributed to by the Customer", as the District determines.

What decides which applies

The split here is not where the pipe runs but what is being done to it, and getting that round the right way is worth real money. On the stretch under the street, maintenance is yours and repair is the District's at the District's expense. So a blockage you clear is your bill and a broken pipe the District replaces is not - up to a point. The exception is the part to read twice, because it swallows the commonest cause of lateral failure there is: the District's repair duty does not apply where the work "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", and it is the District that determines whether that applies. There is also a rule about how you may do your own half of the work: maintenance activity "shall be performed outside of the roadbed, within the parkway unless performed under the direction of the District" - so the verge, not the carriageway, unless the District is directing it. And if your building sits too low to drain by gravity, section 6.203 puts the pump station on you to finance, construct, own and maintain. There is one arrangement in which none of that applies and the whole pipe is yours, and it turns on where the main is rather than on anything about the property. Section 6.104(q)(2) provides that "if a Sewer Service Lateral connects to a rear or side yard Sewer Pipeline that is located in a District easement, or to a District manhole, the entire Sewer Service Lateral, including the connection to the Sewer Pipeline, is an Upper Sewer Lateral". There is then no lower lateral at all, so the District's repair duty in section 6.202(b)(2) never engages, and section 6.202(b)(3) puts maintenance and repair of the entire run on the customer. Rear-easement mains are ordinary in tract subdivisions of a certain age, and a reader on one of them has the most expensive version of this answer while their neighbour across the street has the cheapest. Which one you are on is a question for the District about your address.

Perris

Water · Eastern Municipal Water District

Eastern Municipal Water District owns the water service connection from its main to and including your meter, and its Administrative Code says "the expense of maintenance, repairs, and renewal of such service connections and meters, due to normal wear and tear, shall be borne by the District". Your side starts at the meter: "water pipes and appurtenances downstream of the meter are the property of the customer who is responsible for water use, operation and maintenance." Note that the same District answers the opposite way for your sewer lateral, which is yours the whole way to the main.

The water page for Perris

neither takes on its pipe; one holds title only

Sewer · West Bay Sanitary District

The property owner owns the whole side sewer, from the building to the District's main - though the District may clear a blockage in the part under the road where the property has a conforming cleanout.

Portola Valley

Water · California Water Service, Bear Gulch District

The utility owns the service pipe, the curb stop, the meter and the meter box. The customer owns the piping past the meter - and the curb stop, which folklore treats as the boundary, is expressly the utility's.

The water page for Portola Valley

neither takes on its pipe; one holds title only

Sewer · Rancho Palos Verdes

The City states that inspecting, repairing and maintaining the private sewer lateral is the property owner's responsibility. For the portion under the road, the City has adopted the Los Angeles County sewer ordinance as its own - frozen at its 1989 text, though the sentences that matter here are older than that and unchanged.

Rancho Palos Verdes

Water · California Water Service, Palos Verdes system

The utility owns the service pipe, the curb stop, the meter and the meter box. The customer owns the piping past the meter - and the curb stop, which folklore treats as the boundary, is expressly the utility's.

The water page for Rancho Palos Verdes

neither takes on its pipe; one holds title only

Sewer · Redding

In Redding the sewer connection - the private sewer lateral - runs from the premises to the public sewer, and it is the owner's to maintain on public and private ground alike. Section 14.16.340(A) of the City's code provides that "Maintenance of sewer connections, whether on public or private property, is the responsibility of the owner of the premises."

Redding

Water · Redding

The City owns the water service connection - the pipe from the main with its meter valve, meter and meter box - and the customer keeps their own pipes and fittings in repair. Section 14.08.230 has customers keep their service pipes and appurtenances in good repair "excepting the service installed and owned by the city".

The water page for Redding

neither takes on its pipe; one holds title only

Sewer · Redondo Beach

The property owner is responsible for the sewer connection, and the City's own definition puts the expensive part inside it: a "sewer connection" here is a privately maintained line within the public street, including the wye or tee at the main. The City maintains the public sewers and claims no share of the connection.

Redondo Beach

Water · Redondo Beach

Redondo Beach is claimed by two water utilities and it does not matter which one serves you: California Water Service and Golden State Water Company both file the same CPUC rule, so the service pipe, the curb stop, the meter and the meter box are the utility's, and the piping past the meter is yours. The curb stop, which folklore treats as the boundary, is expressly the utility's under both.

The water page for Redondo Beach

neither is recorded as taking any part

Sewer · Ripon

Ripon puts the whole building connection on the owner, out to the City main. Section 13.08.040 provides that "All maintenance of a building connection between the building and the city sewer main is the responsibility of the lot owner or appropriate owner's association exclusive of the city sewer main."

Ripon

Water · Ripon

Ripon's code makes the consumer keep the service pipes in order but never says where the City's part ends. Section 13.04.390 provides that "All persons, firms or corporations who are consumers of City water shall keep all service pipes, valves and appurtenances in good order at their own expense and may be held liable for damages which may result from their failure to do so."

The water page for Ripon

both authorities take a share

Sewer · South Placer Municipal Utility District

South Placer Municipal Utility District splits the lateral at the property line. The owner has the upper lateral on private property - "The upper lateral is privately owned and maintained." - and the District has the lower lateral under the public right-of-way, with the property line cleanout, which its code calls "The publicly owned clean out".

Rocklin

Water · Placer County Water Agency

Placer County Water Agency keeps its system up to the point where it delivers the water. Its rules provide that "The Agency shall be responsible for operating, maintaining, and replacing all portions of the water system up to the Point of Delivery to the customer", and define that point as "The location where the Agency delivers service and privately owned facilities begin."

The water page for Rocklin

neither takes on its pipe; one holds title only

Sewer · Rolling Hills Estates

The property owner maintains the sewer lateral, and the City's adoption of the Los Angeles County sewer ordinance extends that to the portion in the street, which the county code defines as running from the property line to the main. The county's maintenance district operates the public sewer itself, not the lateral.

Rolling Hills Estates

Water · California Water Service, Palos Verdes system

The utility owns the service pipe, the curb stop, the meter and the meter box. The customer owns the piping past the meter - and the curb stop, which folklore treats as the boundary, is expressly the utility's.

The water page for Rolling Hills Estates

both authorities take a share

Sewer · Roseville

Whether the run under the road is yours depends on one thing: is there a cleanout. Roseville's design standard says "the cleanout indicates the separation between private and public for the purpose of maintenance" - and that "in cases where there is no cleanout, the sewer service is considered private all the way to the main, including the wye". So the property with no cleanout has the longest pipe in the street, and the fitting at the main too.

What decides which applies

Find out whether your property has a sewer cleanout before you assume anything, because in Roseville that single fact decides how much pipe you are responsible for. Where there is one, it "indicates the separation between private and public for the purpose of maintenance" and it sits two feet outside the sewer easement. Where there is not, the service "is considered private all the way to the main, including the wye" - the longest and most expensive version of the answer. Note also that the City's own public page describes it more simply, putting the owner's lateral as running "from the building to the City sewer main" in every case while listing "service connections maintained by the City" as the City's; the design standard is the more precise instrument and the cleanout is the thing to ask about. Two practical points. Call the City before you call a plumber: it runs a 24-hour line, will "assess the situation at no charge", and will clear a blockage if it turns out to be in the City sewer main or service connection. And if you do want the City to work on your lateral, it will - "any work the City performs on private laterals, including the wye fitting that connects the private lateral to the main, shall be billed to the private owner on a time and materials basis", which is a real option and not a published price.

Roseville

Water · Roseville

Roseville lays the water service pipe to a point that "ordinarily ... shall terminate within two feet in back of a sidewalk", and the City's responsibility "with respect to ownership, maintenance, and repair" does not extend past it. Everything from there into your building is yours to "maintain and keep in good repair".

The water page for Roseville

both take a share, the sewer authority only in an emergency

Sewer · San Diego

The City states that the entire sewer lateral is the property owner's private property, including the length running under the street to the sewer main. A Council Policy will clear or repair the section beyond the property line at no charge, but only where the property has lost all sewer service and only after the owner has paid a plumber to establish where the fault is.

San Diego

Water · San Diego

The City states that the property owner is responsible for the water system from the meter onward. It publishes where the division falls without saying, in words, who maintains the run between the main and the meter.

The water page for San Diego

both authorities take a share

Sewer · San Jose

The property owner owns the whole lateral, both on their land and under the road - the City's own ordinance says so in passing, twice. But San Jose will clear a blockage in the run from your property line to the main, and if that run then needs repair the City repairs it "without charge to the owner". All of it depends on a wye cleanout sitting no more than twenty-four inches below the surface and not covered over.

San Jose

Water · San Jose

For the two water utilities that serve most of San Jose it does not matter which one you have: San Jose Water Company and the City's own municipal water system both keep the run from the main through the meter, and both hand the customer everything beyond it. Which utility serves you still decides who bills you and who to ring.

The water page for San Jose

neither takes on its pipe; one holds title only

Sewer · San Luis Obispo

The whole lateral is yours, and San Luis Obispo puts that in its ordinance rather than leaving it to a help page: the entire lateral from the building up to and including the wye at the city main falls "within the owner's responsibility for installation, maintenance, repair, and replacement". The City does not maintain private laterals but does publish a database of their recorded condition, so an owner can look theirs up.

San Luis Obispo

Water · San Luis Obispo

San Luis Obispo puts its water meters "in and upon streets, easements or rights-of-way" and says they "shall be owned by the city", and your private service line is the pipe "that connects the city's water meter to the point of entry" to your building. So the run from your house out to the meter in the street is yours. The code says what the city owns and never says who repairs the length between the main and the meter.

The water page for San Luis Obispo

neither takes on its pipe; one holds title only

Sewer · San Mateo

The property owner is responsible for the whole lateral from the building to the public main, including the wye at the main, whether or not it runs under the street.

San Mateo

Water · California Water Service, San Mateo system (Mid-Peninsula District)

The utility owns the service pipe, the curb stop, the meter and the meter box. The customer owns the piping past the meter - and the curb stop, which folklore treats as the boundary, is expressly the utility's.

The water page for San Mateo

neither takes on its pipe; one holds title only

Sewer · Seaside County Sanitation District

In Sand City the whole lateral, from the building to the District's main, is the owner's. Seaside County Sanitation District, which owns and maintains the collection system in the city, says on its page that "The district maintains the sewer main line through jetting and chemical cleaning. However, the lateral line that connects the individual home or business to the main line is the responsibility of the property owner."

Sand City

Water · California American Water, Monterey

The utility owns the service pipe, the curb stop, the meter and the meter box. The customer lays and keeps in repair the piping from the meter to the house.

The water page for Sand City

neither takes on its pipe; one holds title only

Sewer · Santa Maria

Santa Maria names the wye twice, which is unusual and settles the argument most codes leave open. Section 8-12.304 provides that "Side sewers, including lateral sewers and wyes, shall be constructed and maintained by the owner of the property served at no expense to the City". The definition in section 8-12.104 then fixes both ends of that run rather than one: a side sewer "begins at the point of connection to the main sewer, including the wye, and terminates at the point of connection to the building drain five feet outside the foundation line or building wall".

Santa Maria

Water · Santa Maria

The City supplies the water and draws the line at the meter, with the meter on its own side. Section 8-10.04 provides that "All connections up to and including the meter shall at all times remain the property of the City, and all connections beyond the meter toward the occupancy shall be the sole responsibility of the property owner or occupant, both as to the original installation and as to maintenance and upkeep".

The water page for Santa Maria

both authorities take a share

Sewer · Padre Dam Municipal Water District

In Santee the owner keeps the sewer lateral clear to the main, and Padre Dam Municipal Water District repairs the part under the street. Its rules provide that "The property owner is responsible for maintenance of the sewer lateral connecting the District's main sewer pipeline and the property owner's facility", and that "If repairs are required in the public rights-of-way portion of the sewer lateral, the District will make any necessary repairs at no cost to the property owner."

Santee

Water · Padre Dam Municipal Water District

In Santee, Padre Dam Municipal Water District owns and maintains the water connection up to and including the meter. Its rules provide that "The connection between the water main and the water meter box, including the water meter, are owned and maintained by the District", and that "It shall be the responsibility of the property owner to construct, operate, and maintain all facilities on the customer side of the meter assembly."

The water page for Santee

both authorities take a share

Sewer · Tuolumne Utilities District

In Sonora, Tuolumne Utilities District splits the lateral at a property line cleanout if there is one, and otherwise leaves the whole lateral with the owner. Its ordinance says "The private lateral is owned and maintained by the property owner" and "The public lateral is owned and maintained by the District." - but "If no cleanout or manhole exists near the property line then the entire lateral from the points of service to the lateral connection at the public sewer main is considered a private lateral."

What decides which applies

The split depends on the cleanout: with an accessible, District-approved cleanout at the property line, the District has the part in the street; without one, the whole lateral to the main is yours. New construction must install a property line cleanout. The District will not maintain laterals on private property except by special agreement.

Sonora

Water · Tuolumne Utilities District

Tuolumne Utilities District owns and maintains the service lateral from its main to and including the meter, and stops at the meter's discharge side. Its rules provide that "The District's ownership of and responsibility for operation and maintenance of facilities shall end at the discharge side of water meters that are installed by the District".

The water page for Sonora

neither takes on its pipe; one holds title only

Sewer · St. Helena

St. Helena puts the private lateral on the owner under the street as well, stopping just short of the fitting in the main. Section 13.20.075 provides that "Each property owner shall maintain, repair, and replace their private sewer lateral up to but excluding the connection fitting installed in the public sewer."

St. Helena

Water · St. Helena

In St. Helena the water pipe from the meter to the building belongs to the property owner, who must keep it in repair - including any part of it under the street - and the meter is the City's. The code defines the private water service as the connection, pipe or lateral serving a property "up to but excluding the water meter", and section 13.04.075 provides that "The private water laterals are the property of the property owner and are not part of the public water service system."

The water page for St. Helena

both authorities take a share

Sewer · Turlock

Turlock keeps everything under the street and gives the owner everything on the lot. Section 6-4-107 provides that "The City shall maintain all sewer connections, mains, sewer laterals and appurtenances within City rights-of-way, on public property, or public easements, including cleanouts and manholes", and that "The property owner shall maintain all other sewer connections, lines and appurtenances to or on his/her premises up to the cleanout or customer side manhole."

Turlock

Water · Turlock

Turlock splits the water line at the meter or curb valve and states both halves in one section. Section 6-5-108 provides that "The City shall maintain all water connections, mains, water service lines and appurtenances within City rights-of-way on City property or easements including curb valves and meters", and that "The property owner shall maintain all other service connection lines and appurtenances to or on his/her property up to the meter or curb valve."

The water page for Turlock

both authorities take a share

Sewer · Vallejo Flood and Wastewater District

The District maintains the lower lateral and the District cleanout; the owner has the upper lateral, from the cleanout to the building.

What decides which applies

a District cleanout having been installed

Vallejo

Water · Vallejo

The City owns the service line and the meter and is responsible for them up to the meter; everything past it is private property and yours. One thing to know before a repair, though: if the City has to dig up its own service connection, its code bills you for the work unless you can show the damage was not your doing.

The water page for Vallejo

neither takes on its pipe; one holds title only

Sewer · Villa Park

In Villa Park the whole lateral, from the building to the main, is the owner's to maintain. Section 18-6 of the City's code provides that "A lateral sewer from its connection to a building on the property to its point of connection with the main sewer shall remain the responsibility of the property owner or user with regard to maintenance, repair and upkeep."

Villa Park

Water · Serrano Water District

Serrano Water District owns the line to the meter and stops at its outlet. The District's rules define the Point of Ownership as "The point where the District's ownership and control of water system facilities ends, which shall be the outlet (downstream) side of the water meter or the control valve upstream of the backflow device", and provide that "Service laterals, from the point beginning on the customer side of the meter, are the responsibility of the Applicant."

The water page for Villa Park

neither takes on its pipe; one holds title only

Sewer · Visalia

The whole side sewer is the owner's - the code calls it "privately owned and maintained" and runs it from two feet outside the building all the way to the City's main, including the wye fitting where it joins. The City installs the portion in the street and charges the owner for it.

Visalia

Water · California Water Service, Visalia District

The utility owns the service pipe, the curb stop, the meter and the meter box. The customer owns the piping past the meter - and the curb stop, which folklore treats as the boundary, is expressly the utility's.

The water page for Visalia

both authorities take a share

Sewer · Waterford

Waterford splits the lateral by kind of work rather than by length. Section 7.04.050 provides that "it is the responsibility of the property owner, at the owner's expense, to maintain the sewer service lateral from the premises to the city owned and operated main line. Such maintenance shall include the removal of tree roots and other blockages", and that "The city will repair damaged and deteriorated lateral lines in the city right-of-way at city expense, unless such damage was caused by the property owner."

Waterford

Water · Waterford

Waterford maintains the water service from its main to the meter where the service lies in the street or a public utility easement, and the owner maintains the line from the meter onto the property. Section 4.00.150 provides that "The city will maintain services from the water main to the water meter or meter idler, whichever occurs first, within the city right-of-way or public utility easement."

The water page for Waterford

neither takes on its pipe; one holds title only

Sewer · Watsonville

Watsonville puts the whole lateral on the owner, owned as well as maintained. Section 6-3.508(a) provides that "Sanitary sewer laterals shall be owned, repaired, maintained, and/or replaced by the owner(s) of each property served, at such owner's sole expense", and section 6-3.100 defines the sanitary sewer lateral as "that portion of any sanitary sewer beginning at the plumbing or drainage outlet of any building and extending to the POTW".

Watsonville

Water · Watsonville

Watsonville splits the water line at the meter by ownership. Section 6-3.410 provides that service connections, "including but not limited to mains, water services, meters, and meter boxes, up to and including the meter become the property of the City upon City acceptance of the installation, whether located on public or private property", and section 6-3.411 that "The water service line from the building to the meter is the property of the owner".

The water page for Watsonville

both authorities take a share

Sewer · West Sacramento

West Sacramento splits the lateral at the City's cleanout, and for a house the City keeps the half nearest the main. Section 13.08.140 provides that "Upper laterals shall be maintained by the owner of the property served thereby" and that "Lower laterals connecting to single-family units shall be maintained by the city."

What decides which applies

Two things move the line. The cleanout itself: under section 13.08.140, "where no cleanout has been installed or has been installed incorrectly, the entire side sewer shall be maintained by the owner of the property served thereby" - so without a proper City cleanout the owner keeps everything to the main. And the kind of building: "Lower laterals connecting to commercial and multiple dwelling buildings shall be maintained by the owner of the property served thereby", so the City's half is for single-family homes only. Find your cleanout before deciding whose a blockage is.

West Sacramento

Water · West Sacramento

West Sacramento draws the line at the meter and states both halves. Section 13.04.050 provides that "The city shall be responsible for operating, maintaining and replacing all portions of the distribution system which are owned by the city", and section 13.04.090 that "The customer shall be responsible for the proper operation and maintenance of the customer's private water line".

The water page for West Sacramento

both authorities take a share

Sewer · Willits

Willits splits maintenance at the property line, but a side sewer that fails the City's test is the owner's to fix all the way to the main. Section 13.08.090 provides that "Building sewers and all other sewerage facilities located on private property shall be maintained by the owner of the property served thereby", and limits the City's responsibility to "The maintenance of sewer laterals from right-of-way lines to the sewer mains lines".

What decides which applies

Two things decide which applies. First, the City's share is maintenance of the lateral, not clearing it: a blockage in the lateral is the owner's to have cleared by a private company, and emergency cleaning by City crews is billed to the owner. Second, under the City's sewer lateral inspection program, "It shall be the responsibility of the property owner to repair and or replace any side sewer which has been found through testing and/or inspection to exhibit conditions which would permit infiltration to enter the sewer system" - and the side sewer "includes the building sewer and lateral sewer together", from the building to the main. That testing is triggered by a sale, an overflow, a major remodel and other events. These sections govern property on the City's sewer.

Willits

Water · Willits

Willits owns everything it installs from its main up to and including the meter box and repairs that service connection at its own expense. Its leak adjustment policy says the City is not responsible for maintaining water lines beyond the end of its service connection, and refers to leaks in the property owner's system. Section 14.32.050 provides that "All facilities installed from the main up to and including the meter box shall be and shall remain the property of the city".

The water page for Willits

both authorities take a share

Sewer · Woodlake

Woodlake splits the lateral at the public right-of-way. Section 13.20.050 provides that "Individual property owners shall be responsible for the installation, maintenance and repair of service lines, excluding that portion that is within the public R.O.W.", and section 13.20.060 that "The city shall be responsible for the maintenance and repair of sewer main lines and laterals in city right-of-way".

Woodlake

Water · Woodlake

Woodlake keeps the service connection and meter, and the owner keeps the line from the meter to the building. Section 13.04.050 provides that "the city shall be responsible for subsequent maintenance of the service connection and water meter, and the landowner shall retain responsibility for maintenance of the service lateral connecting the landowner's building(s) or other facilities to the city's water meter."

The water page for Woodlake

both authorities take a share

Sewer · Hi-Desert Water District

Where Yucca Valley is on the new sewer, the owner keeps the whole lateral clear to the main and the District repairs the part under the street. Section 8.15.150 provides that "the property owner is responsible for maintaining the entire sewer lateral from the structure(s) on the property to the district wastewater main free and clear of debris", and that "If repairs are required in the public right-of-way portion of a sewer lateral, the district will make any necessary repairs at no cost to the property owner" unless the owner caused the damage.

Yucca Valley

Water · Hi-Desert Water District

In Yucca Valley, Hi-Desert Water District maintains the service connection up to the meter; everything past it is the owner's. Section 5.20.070 provides that "The service connection extending from the water main to the meter, meter box and service valve shall be maintained by the district", and that "All pipes and fixtures extending or lying beyond the meter shall be installed and maintained by the owner of the property, including the customer's gate valve."

The water page for Yucca Valley

not counted either way: a sewer authority here owns its part, and its code says both that it will maintain it and that it may choose to

Sewer · West Valley Sanitation District

The District's ordinance code says "the lower sewer lateral is owned by the district" - the run from the property line cleanout to the sewer main in the street. On who maintains it, the code says more than one thing. It says the District "will maintain" the lower lateral and "is generally responsible for the maintenance, cleaning, inspection, repair, and replacement" of it. But for lower laterals and cleanouts installed before 1 November 2026, a further sentence reads "the district may continue to maintain, clean, inspect, and repair existing lower sewer laterals", on conditions, and the code does not say how these fit together. Where your side ends is not fixed either. The code's definition puts it at the cleanout, the cleanout included, "unless otherwise provided by district ordinance or policy", and another section names both the cleanout and the connection at the public sewer. Without an approved, accessible cleanout, the maintenance of the whole run to the main is yours. Confirm with the District where your side ends and whether it will maintain, repair or replace the rest before relying on it.

What decides which applies

Two things bear on this, and the code fully settles neither. The first is the cleanout. The code's cleanout definition puts the divide there: the cleanout "serves as the point of separation between the upper sewer lateral from the lower sewer lateral", and your side runs to it, the cleanout included, "unless otherwise provided by district ordinance or policy". Section 6.100(C) names two end points for the owner, "the connection at the sanitary public sewer, or the PLCO closest to the public sewer", without saying which applies when. Where "an approved property line cleanout has not been installed to access the lower sewer lateral, or has not been maintained to provide clear and unfettered access for district maintenance staff", the maintenance of the whole building sewer is yours, and the district manager decides case by case who repairs or replaces the lower lateral, weighing among other things "whether the failure could have been prevented through proper maintenance by the property owner". The second is when your lateral went in. For lower laterals and cleanouts installed before 1 November 2026, a sentence in the code's definitions says the District "may continue" to maintain them, on conditions. Elsewhere it says the District "will maintain" the lower lateral, and it does not reconcile the two. So ask the District where your side ends and what it will do beyond it before relying on either. One case is settled outright: where your lateral connects to a public sewer in an easement, the District "shall not be responsible for the maintenance, cleaning, inspection, repair, or replacement" of it, and the whole lateral is yours.

Campbell

Water · San Jose Water Company

The utility owns the service pipe, the curb stop, the meter and the meter box. The customer owns everything from the meter outlet coupling inward.

The water page for Campbell

not counted either way: a sewer authority here owns its part, and its code says both that it will maintain it and that it may choose to

Sewer · West Valley Sanitation District

The District's ordinance code says "the lower sewer lateral is owned by the district" - the run from the property line cleanout to the sewer main in the street. On who maintains it, the code says more than one thing. It says the District "will maintain" the lower lateral and "is generally responsible for the maintenance, cleaning, inspection, repair, and replacement" of it. But for lower laterals and cleanouts installed before 1 November 2026, a further sentence reads "the district may continue to maintain, clean, inspect, and repair existing lower sewer laterals", on conditions, and the code does not say how these fit together. Where your side ends is not fixed either. The code's definition puts it at the cleanout, the cleanout included, "unless otherwise provided by district ordinance or policy", and another section names both the cleanout and the connection at the public sewer. Without an approved, accessible cleanout, the maintenance of the whole run to the main is yours. Confirm with the District where your side ends and whether it will maintain, repair or replace the rest before relying on it.

What decides which applies

Two things bear on this, and the code fully settles neither. The first is the cleanout. The code's cleanout definition puts the divide there: the cleanout "serves as the point of separation between the upper sewer lateral from the lower sewer lateral", and your side runs to it, the cleanout included, "unless otherwise provided by district ordinance or policy". Section 6.100(C) names two end points for the owner, "the connection at the sanitary public sewer, or the PLCO closest to the public sewer", without saying which applies when. Where "an approved property line cleanout has not been installed to access the lower sewer lateral, or has not been maintained to provide clear and unfettered access for district maintenance staff", the maintenance of the whole building sewer is yours, and the district manager decides case by case who repairs or replaces the lower lateral, weighing among other things "whether the failure could have been prevented through proper maintenance by the property owner". The second is when your lateral went in. For lower laterals and cleanouts installed before 1 November 2026, a sentence in the code's definitions says the District "may continue" to maintain them, on conditions. Elsewhere it says the District "will maintain" the lower lateral, and it does not reconcile the two. So ask the District where your side ends and what it will do beyond it before relying on either. One case is settled outright: where your lateral connects to a public sewer in an easement, the District "shall not be responsible for the maintenance, cleaning, inspection, repair, or replacement" of it, and the whole lateral is yours.

Los Gatos

Water · San Jose Water Company

The utility owns the service pipe, the curb stop, the meter and the meter box. The customer owns everything from the meter outlet coupling inward.

The water page for Los Gatos

not counted either way: a sewer authority here owns its part, and its code says both that it will maintain it and that it may choose to

Sewer · West Valley Sanitation District

The District's ordinance code says "the lower sewer lateral is owned by the district" - the run from the property line cleanout to the sewer main in the street. On who maintains it, the code says more than one thing. It says the District "will maintain" the lower lateral and "is generally responsible for the maintenance, cleaning, inspection, repair, and replacement" of it. But for lower laterals and cleanouts installed before 1 November 2026, a further sentence reads "the district may continue to maintain, clean, inspect, and repair existing lower sewer laterals", on conditions, and the code does not say how these fit together. Where your side ends is not fixed either. The code's definition puts it at the cleanout, the cleanout included, "unless otherwise provided by district ordinance or policy", and another section names both the cleanout and the connection at the public sewer. Without an approved, accessible cleanout, the maintenance of the whole run to the main is yours. Confirm with the District where your side ends and whether it will maintain, repair or replace the rest before relying on it.

What decides which applies

Two things bear on this, and the code fully settles neither. The first is the cleanout. The code's cleanout definition puts the divide there: the cleanout "serves as the point of separation between the upper sewer lateral from the lower sewer lateral", and your side runs to it, the cleanout included, "unless otherwise provided by district ordinance or policy". Section 6.100(C) names two end points for the owner, "the connection at the sanitary public sewer, or the PLCO closest to the public sewer", without saying which applies when. Where "an approved property line cleanout has not been installed to access the lower sewer lateral, or has not been maintained to provide clear and unfettered access for district maintenance staff", the maintenance of the whole building sewer is yours, and the district manager decides case by case who repairs or replaces the lower lateral, weighing among other things "whether the failure could have been prevented through proper maintenance by the property owner". The second is when your lateral went in. For lower laterals and cleanouts installed before 1 November 2026, a sentence in the code's definitions says the District "may continue" to maintain them, on conditions. Elsewhere it says the District "will maintain" the lower lateral, and it does not reconcile the two. So ask the District where your side ends and what it will do beyond it before relying on either. One case is settled outright: where your lateral connects to a public sewer in an easement, the District "shall not be responsible for the maintenance, cleaning, inspection, repair, or replacement" of it, and the whole lateral is yours.

Monte Sereno

Water · San Jose Water Company

The utility owns the service pipe, the curb stop, the meter and the meter box. The customer owns everything from the meter outlet coupling inward.

The water page for Monte Sereno

not counted either way: a sewer authority here owns its part, and its code says both that it will maintain it and that it may choose to

Sewer · Saratoga

No single authority covers Saratoga: the City states that the sewer lines "are owned and maintained by Cupertino Sanitary District and West Valley Sanitation District". In Cupertino Sanitary District's area, that District makes you responsible for the house lateral, the cleanout and the point of connection to the street lateral, and states that it maintains and repairs the part in the street where there is an accessible, serviceable cleanout at the property line. In West Valley Sanitation District's area, about two thirds of the city, West Valley's code puts your side at the cleanout, "unless otherwise provided by district ordinance or policy", but another section names the connection at the public sewer as an end point too, without saying which applies when. West Valley's code says the part in the street "is owned by the district", and says both that the District "will maintain" it and, for laterals installed before 1 November 2026, that it "may continue" to, without reconciling the two. In West Valley's area, confirm with West Valley Sanitation District where your side ends and what it will do for yours.

What decides which applies

Two things decide this. The first is which district serves the address - West Valley Sanitation District covers about two thirds of the city and Cupertino Sanitary District covers portions of it, and neither claims the whole. The second is the cleanout. Cupertino Sanitary District ties its maintenance and repair of the street lateral to "an accessible and serviceable cleanout at the property line". West Valley's code defines the cleanout as the divide, with the owner's side running to it "unless otherwise provided by district ordinance or policy", while its section 6.100(C) names two end points for the owner, "the connection at the sanitary public sewer, or the PLCO closest to the public sewer", without saying which applies when. Where there is no approved cleanout kept clear for its staff, West Valley puts the maintenance of the whole run, out to the main, on the owner, and its district manager decides case by case who repairs or replaces the part in the street. Beyond the cleanout the two districts differ. Cupertino Sanitary District states that it maintains and repairs the street lateral. West Valley's code says it owns it, and says both that the District "will maintain" it and, for laterals installed before 1 November 2026, that it "may continue" to, without reconciling the two. Where a lateral connects to a public sewer in an easement, West Valley states it "shall not be responsible for the maintenance, cleaning, inspection, repair, or replacement" of it. In West Valley's area, ask West Valley Sanitation District where your side ends and what it will do for yours before relying on it.

Saratoga

Water · San Jose Water Company

The utility owns the service pipe, the curb stop, the meter and the meter box. The customer owns everything from the meter outlet coupling inward.

The water page for Saratoga