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Who pays for the sewer lateral in Bellevue, 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 Bellevue Utilities - a side sewer permit
    What it covers:
    constructing a side sewer, and any addition, repair or connection to an existing side sewer

    Bellevue City Code section 24.04.120(B)(1) provides that "A side sewer permit is required to construct a side sewer and/or to make any additions, repairs or connections to an existing side sewer."

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 Bellevue about the sewer lateral.

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

Who is responsible for which part

Bellevue's sewer utility owns the side sewer stub - the part of the side sewer in the street right-of-way - and the property owner owns and maintains the side sewer on private property. Section 24.04.115 of the Bellevue City Code provides that "Property owners shall be responsible for the development, maintenance, and repairs of private side sewers and their appurtenances, including but not limited to check valves, cleanouts, and pumps."

Bellevue
Title to the side sewer stub. Section 24.04.115 lists among the utility's facilities "side sewer stubs (that portion of the side sewer between the public sewer main and the edge of right-of-way or easement line)". The code does not say in the same words that the utility repairs the stub.
The property owner
The side sewer on private property, with its check valves, cleanouts and pumps. Section 24.04.115 provides that "Side sewers located on private property are exclusively owned by the underlying property owner(s)".

What decides which applies

The utility's stub ends at the edge of the right-of-way, or at the line of an easement dedicated to the utility. Ownership can differ where it is "otherwise indicated as a matter of record". Owners or their contractors must notify the utility before cleaning an existing side sewer, and the owner is liable for damage if cleaning debris causes a blockage downstream. Ask Bellevue Utilities before paying for work in the street. This answer applies where the City of Bellevue is your sewer utility; check the name on your sewer bill.

Sources

Bellevue City Code section 24.04.115, System ownership (Ord. 5964, 2010)

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 Bellevue Utilities - a side sewer permit
    What it covers:
    constructing a side sewer, and any addition, repair or connection to an existing side sewer

    Bellevue City Code section 24.04.120(B)(1) provides that "A side sewer permit is required to construct a side sewer and/or to make any additions, repairs or connections to an existing side sewer."

    What to do: Before repairing, extending or reconnecting a side sewer, apply to Bellevue Utilities for a side sewer permit.

    Why this matters

    The owner maintains and repairs the side sewer on private property. The permit application is made by the property owner or their licensed and bonded contractor, and a side sewer permit expires two years from the date it is issued.

    Current wording dates from · Checked

    Bellevue City Code section 24.04.120, Permits - Approvals (Ord. 5964, 2010)

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
Bellevue (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.

  • Bellevue(this page)
    the property line (conditions apply)
  • Mercer Islandabout 4 mi
    the main
  • Kirklandabout 7 mi
    the main (conditions apply; see that page)
  • Seattleabout 9 mi
    the main
  • Kentabout 14 mi
    the main, including the connection fitting on the main (conditions apply; see that page)
  • Shorelineabout 14 mi
    the property line (conditions apply; see that page)
  • Auburnabout 20 mi
    the property line (conditions apply; see that page)
  • Snoqualmieabout 15 mi
    the main
  • Enumclawabout 28 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 Bellevue

Nearby cities and further reading

Look up a specific address

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

Search for an address