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Who pays for the sewer lateral in Lynnwood, 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 Lynnwood - the director of public works
    What it covers:
    installation of a side sewer, and of a service lateral where none is available at the property line

    Lynnwood Municipal Code section 14.16.022 provides that "A permit for the installation of a side sewer shall be obtained from the director."

The repair rule in full, with its sources

No rule on file here is specific to selling, buying, remodelling or adding a unit; that does not mean none exists.

Who to call first about the sewer lateral

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

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

Who is responsible for which part

In Lynnwood the City owns and maintains the service lateral from the sewer main to the property line; the owner owns and maintains the side sewer on the property. Section 14.16.015 of the Lynnwood Municipal Code provides that "All service lateral sewers shall be deemed the property of the city, and the city shall be responsible for the maintenance of the same. All side sewers shall be the property of the property owner, and shall be maintained by him at his sole expense."

Lynnwood
The service lateral, which section 14.06.190 defines as "that portion of the public sewer line running from the sewer main to the property line."
The property owner
The side sewer (building sewer) from the building to the service lateral at the property line.

What decides which applies

The dividing point is the property line. Where no service lateral reaches the property line, the owner must install one at the owner's expense under a City permit. This answer applies where the City of Lynnwood is your sewer utility. King County's map of sewer service areas puts about 8% of Lynnwood's land inside Alderwood Water and Wastewater District, which collects there under its own rules; its side sewer terms are not set out here. Check the name on your sewer bill, and if the District bills you, ask it before paying for work in the street.

Sources

Lynnwood Municipal Code section 14.16.015

Also quoted:

Checked

What the rules say

Most relevant if you are remodelling or adding a unit

No rule on file here is specific to remodelling or adding a unit; that does not mean none exists.

Also in force here

  • Before work on the pipePermit
    Who issues it:
    City of Lynnwood - the director of public works
    What it covers:
    installation of a side sewer, and of a service lateral where none is available at the property line

    Lynnwood Municipal Code section 14.16.022 provides that "A permit for the installation of a side sewer shall be obtained from the director."

    What to do: Where the City of Lynnwood is your sewer utility, before installing a side sewer, apply to the City of Lynnwood Public Works Department for a side sewer permit, and post the permit card at the site until the work is approved. If Alderwood Water and Wastewater District bills you for sewer, ask the District which permit it requires.

    Why this matters

    The owner owns and maintains the side sewer on the property, and the City keeps the service lateral from the main to the property line. Where no service lateral reaches the property line, the owner must install one at the owner's expense, under a separate permit.

    Current wording dates from · Checked

    Lynnwood Municipal Code section 14.16.022, Permit for installation (Ord. 2241

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
Lynnwood (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

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

  • Lynnwood(this page)
    the property line (conditions apply)
  • Shorelineabout 5 mi
    the property line (conditions apply; see that page)
  • Everettabout 11 mi
    the property line
  • Kirklandabout 10 mi
    the main (conditions apply; see that page)
  • Seattleabout 15 mi
    the main
  • Monroeabout 15 mi
    the main
  • Arlingtonabout 25 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 Lynnwood

Nearby cities and further reading

Look up a specific address

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

Search for an address