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Who pays for the sewer lateral in Kent, WA

Which part of the pipe is yours

  • Sewer lateral

    Yours all the way to the main, including the fitting where it joins — unless Soos Creek Water and Sewer District or Midway Sewer District is your sewer provider

    Why, and what to do
  • Water service line

    Yours from the meter to your building

    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 Kent Public Works - a sewer permit
    What it covers:
    constructing, extending, relaying or repairing a building sewer or side sewer, and any connection to a side stub or the public sewer, on private property or in the right-of-way

    Kent City Code section 7.04.050 provides that "A permit is required for all work to construct, extend, relay, or repair a building sewer or a side sewer, or to make any connection to a side stub or the public sanitary sewer, whether that work is performed on private property or within the city right-of-way."

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 Kent about the sewer lateral.

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

Who is responsible for which part

In Kent the owner is responsible for the whole side sewer, including the part in the City's right-of-way and the tee and side stub on the public sewer. Section 7.04.040(B) of the Kent City Code makes the owner, and any later owner, "responsible for all costs of maintenance, repair, removal of obstructions, cleaning, and operation of the side sewer, including that portion of the side sewer extending into the city's right-of-way and connecting to the public sanitary sewer, including without limitation the tee and side stub thereto."

The property owner
The whole side sewer, with the tee and side stub. The same section provides that accepting a side sewer connection "shall not be deemed to create a duty upon the city to repair, maintain, replace, or clean the same."

What decides which applies

Nothing on a City of Kent side sewer is the City's: the owner's responsibility runs to the public sanitary sewer and includes the tee and side stub. Where the director finds a side sewer obstructed, broken or likely to cause damage, on private property or in the right-of-way, the director gives notice and the person responsible must make the required correction by the date set. Section 7.04.040(B) attaches this to a side sewer connection approved by the City's director, so it applies where the City of Kent is your sewer utility. Not all of Kent is. King County's map of sewer service areas puts about 27% of Kent's land, mostly in the east of the city, in Soos Creek Water and Sewer District's service area, and about 3% in the west in Midway Sewer District's. Soos Creek states that a sewer connection includes the "stub", a short pipe from the sewer main to the customer's property line, and 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." Midway Sewer District's customer pages do not state where the owner's part ends. Check the name on your sewer bill, and if a district bills you, ask it before paying for work in the street.

Sources

Kent City Code section 7.04.040

Also quoted:

Checked

What the rules say

Most relevant if you are remodelling or adding a unit

  • Before work on the pipePermit
    Who issues it:
    City of Kent Public Works - a sewer permit
    What it covers:
    constructing, extending, relaying or repairing a building sewer or side sewer, and any connection to a side stub or the public sewer, on private property or in the right-of-way

    Kent City Code section 7.04.050 provides that "A permit is required for all work to construct, extend, relay, or repair a building sewer or a side sewer, or to make any connection to a side stub or the public sanitary sewer, whether that work is performed on private property or within the city right-of-way."

    What to do: Where the City of Kent is your sewer utility, get a sewer permit from the City before repairing or replacing a side sewer, and use a licensed contractor for work in the street unless the City approves the owner connecting to the side stub. If Soos Creek Water and Sewer District or Midway Sewer District bills you for sewer, ask that district which permit it requires; Soos Creek requires its own repair permit.

    Why this matters

    The owner is responsible for the whole side sewer, including the part in the right-of-way and the tee and side stub, so a repair anywhere on it needs this permit. The applicant must notify the director when the work is ready for final inspection and before any underground part is covered.

    In force since · Checked

    Kent City Code section 7.04.050, Permit required to construct, extend

    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
Kent (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

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

  • Kent(this page)
    the main, including the connection fitting on the main (conditions apply)
  • Auburnabout 6 mi
    the property line (conditions apply; see that page)
  • Tacomaabout 15 mi
    the main
  • Seattleabout 17 mi
    the main
  • Mercer Islandabout 12 mi
    the main
  • Bellevueabout 14 mi
    the property line (conditions apply; see that page)
  • Enumclawabout 17 mi
    the main
  • Snoqualmieabout 20 mi
    the main
  • Kirklandabout 21 mi
    the main (conditions apply; see that page)

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 main, fitting included; your water line stops being yours at the meter.

Who owns the water service line in Kent

Nearby cities and further reading

Look up a specific address

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

Search for an address