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Who pays for the sewer lateral in Auburn, WA

Which part of the pipe is yours

  • Sewer lateral

    Yours from your property line to your building — if certain conditions are met

    Why, and what to do
  • Water service line

    Yours from the meter to your building — if certain conditions are met

    Why, and what to do
your buildingproperty linesidewalkstreetmain
The thick length is yours. A dashed marker means the position depends on your property — see below.

If something’s wrong

If a repair needs a permit or an inspection

  • Before work on the pipe · Permit

    Who issues it:
    City of Auburn - a side sewer repair or replacement permit
    What it covers:
    repairing, replacing or reconnecting a side sewer to the public sewer mainline

    Auburn City Code section 13.20.230 provides that "It is unlawful for any person to repair, replace, or reconnect to the public sewer mainline any side sewer without first obtaining a permit to do so from the city."

The repair rule in full, with its sources

Buying or selling?

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

Who to call first about the sewer lateral

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

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

Who is responsible for which part

In Auburn the City maintains, repairs and replaces the part of a private side sewer that lies in the public right-of-way, and the owner maintains the side sewer on the property. Section 13.20.040 of the Auburn City Code provides that "the city shall be responsible for the maintenance, operation, repair, and replacement of the public sewer system and the portions of private side sewers located within public rights-of-way."

Auburn
The portion of the side sewer within the public right-of-way, once the sewer facilities have been constructed and approved by the City.
The property owner
The side sewer on the property. Section 13.20.040 provides that "The owner of the property served by the side sewer is responsible for the maintenance, operation, and repair of the side sewer on the property and within public or private easements on other properties."

What decides which applies

The dividing line is the edge of the public right-of-way. Where your side sewer crosses an easement on another property before it reaches the street, that length is yours too. Repairing, replacing or reconnecting a side sewer needs a City permit. Section 13.20.040 begins "Once sewer facilities have been constructed and approved by the city, the city shall be responsible for", so this answer applies where the City of Auburn is your sewer utility. Not all of Auburn is: Lakehaven Water and Sewer District's own map of its sewer service area takes in about 5% of Auburn's land, in the north-west of the city. There the District's Administrative Code makes the owner responsible for the whole sewer service connection, "including those that may be located in public right of way", and the District keeps only the side sewer tee on its sewer. King County's map of sewer service areas puts about 3% of Auburn's land inside Soos Creek Water and Sewer District, which states that "Maintenance of the sewer main and each stub is the responsibility of Soos Creek. Maintenance of the side sewer is the responsibility of the customer." Check the name on your sewer bill, and if a district bills you, ask it before paying for work in the street.

Sources

Auburn City Code section 13.20.040, Sewer system responsibility (Ord. 4241

Also quoted:

Checked

What the rules say

Most relevant if you are repairing or replacing the pipe

  • Before work on the pipePermit
    Who issues it:
    City of Auburn - a side sewer repair or replacement permit
    What it covers:
    repairing, replacing or reconnecting a side sewer to the public sewer mainline

    Auburn City Code section 13.20.230 provides that "It is unlawful for any person to repair, replace, or reconnect to the public sewer mainline any side sewer without first obtaining a permit to do so from the city."

    What to do: Where the City of Auburn is your sewer utility, get a side sewer permit from the City before repairing, replacing or reconnecting a side sewer, and a right-of-way permit for any work in the street. If Lakehaven Water and Sewer District bills you for sewer, ask the District which permit it requires; its own code requires a District permit for side sewer work.

    Why this matters

    The owner maintains and repairs the side sewer on the property and across easements on other properties. The permit fee follows the City's fee schedule, and work in a public right-of-way is also subject to the City's right-of-way permit chapter or the permit rules of the city or county where the work is done.

    Current wording dates from · Checked

    Auburn City Code section 13.20.230, Side sewer repair or replacement

    Also quoted:

What this page cannot tell you

  • No assistance or grant programme has been reviewed for this jurisdiction yet.
  • No sewer service territory has been mapped for this area, so BelowGrid cannot say who serves an individual address.

Who governs and serves this area

Jurisdiction
Auburn (municipality)
Sewer service
No map of sewer providers is held here. BelowGrid cannot say which sewer provider serves an individual address.

How this compares to neighbouring cities

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

  • Auburn(this page)
    the property line (conditions apply)
  • Kentabout 6 mi
    the main, including the connection fitting on the main (conditions apply; see that page)
  • Sumnerabout 6 mi
    the property line
  • Edgewoodabout 6 mi
    the property line (conditions apply; see that page)
  • Fifeabout 8 mi
    the main
  • Tacomaabout 12 mi
    the main
  • Enumclawabout 13 mi
    the main
  • Seattleabout 23 mi
    the main
  • Mercer Islandabout 18 mi
    the main

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

Your other pipe: the water service line

The drinking water line coming into your property is a separate pipe, run by a separate authority, and who is responsible for it is decided separately. Your sewer lateral is yours to the property line; your water line stops being yours at the meter.

Who owns the water service line in Auburn

Nearby cities and further reading

Look up a specific address

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

Search for an address