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Who pays for the sewer lateral in Kelso, WA

Which part of the pipe is yours

your buildingproperty linesidewalkstreetmain
The thick length is yours. A dashed marker means the position depends on your property — see below.

If something’s wrong

If a repair needs a permit or an inspection

  • Before work on the pipe · Permit

    Who issues it:
    City of Kelso - public works department
    What it covers:
    connecting to, opening into, altering or disturbing the public sewer, and constructing a side sewer on private property or in the public right-of-way

    Kelso Municipal Code section 13.08.170 provides that "No person shall uncover, make any connections with or opening into, use, alter or disturb the public sewer or appurtenance thereof, or engage in the construction of a side sewer, either on private property or within public right-of-way, without first obtaining a side sewer permit from the public works department, in which the specific purpose shall be delineated."

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 Kelso about the sewer lateral.

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

Who is responsible for which part

In Kelso the property owner bears the cost of maintaining the side sewer, and when a side sewer is found defective the owner repairs or replaces it up to the right-of-way line while the City repairs or replaces the part from that line to the main. Section 13.08.155(B) of the Kelso Municipal Code provides that "The city shall repair or replace the defective side sewer from the right-of-way line to the city" before naming the sewer main.

Kelso
Repair or replacement of a defective side sewer from the right-of-way line to the City's sewer main, under section 13.08.155(B). The code states this for a side sewer found defective on inspection, not a general duty to maintain that length.
The property owner
The side sewer, which section 13.08.020 defines as the lateral that "extends from the building drain to the point of connection with the public sewer located at the boundary of the public sewer easement or right-of-way". Section 13.08.155(A) provides that "All costs and expenses incident to the installation, connection, operation, and maintenance of the entire side sewer shall be borne by the owner of the premises served by the side sewer."

What decides which applies

The dividing point is the right-of-way line. On notice that a side sewer is defective, the owner must "replace or repair the defective side sewer up to the right-of-way line within sixty days"; a side sewer in service for more than twenty years is presumed defective. Where the City maintains a side sewer because of the owner's act or to protect the public sewer, it charges the owner. 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.

Sources

Kelso Municipal Code section 13.08.155, Side sewer

Also quoted:

Checked

What is required

  • Before work on the pipePermit
    Who issues it:
    City of Kelso - public works department
    What it covers:
    connecting to, opening into, altering or disturbing the public sewer, and constructing a side sewer on private property or in the public right-of-way

    Kelso Municipal Code section 13.08.170 provides that "No person shall uncover, make any connections with or opening into, use, alter or disturb the public sewer or appurtenance thereof, or engage in the construction of a side sewer, either on private property or within public right-of-way, without first obtaining a side sewer permit from the public works department, in which the specific purpose shall be delineated."

    What to do: Before constructing a side sewer or connecting to the public sewer, apply to the City of Kelso public works department for a side sewer permit; a permit is required for each structure to be connected. Work in the public right-of-way also needs a right-of-way permit, obtained before the side sewer permit is issued. Notify the director of public works when the side sewer is ready for inspection, at least twenty-four hours before the inspection.

    Why this matters

    The owner bears the costs of installing, connecting, operating and maintaining the side sewer and must repair or replace a defective side sewer up to the right-of-way line, so that work is the owner's, and constructing a side sewer or connecting to the public sewer needs the City's side sewer permit first.

    Current wording dates from · Checked

    Kelso Municipal Code section 13.08.170, Side sewer

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

The closest places BelowGrid has checked

3 of the 4 nearest cities draw the line somewhere else. Each authority publishes only its own rule.

  • Kelso(this page)
    the property line (conditions apply)
  • Battle Groundabout 29 mi
    the main (conditions apply; see that page)
  • Portland, ORabout 42 mi
    the curb (conditions apply; see that page)
  • Centraliaabout 42 mi
    the main
  • Gresham, ORabout 48 mi
    the property line

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 Kelso

Nearby cities and further reading

Look up a specific address

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

Search for an address