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Who pays for the sewer lateral in Pierce County Sewer, WA

Which part of the pipe is yours

your buildingproperty linesidewalkstreetmain
The thick length is yours.

If something’s wrong

If a repair needs a permit or an inspection

  • Before work on the pipe · Permit

    Who issues it:
    Pierce County Planning and Public Works - a sewer service permit
    What it covers:
    new connections to the public sewer system and any modification, repair, disconnection, inspection or addition to an existing building sewer

    Pierce County Code section 13.04.055 provides that "A sewer service permit and/or sewer line extension permit shall be required for any new connection to the public sewer system or for any modification, repair, disconnection, inspection, or addition to an existing building sewer or sewer line extension, or discharge of additional wastewater."

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 Pierce County Sewer about the sewer lateral.

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

Who is responsible for which part

Inside Pierce County's sewer service area the property owner maintains the whole building sewer, including the side sewer stub that runs from the County's sewer main to the property line. Section 13.04.010 of the Pierce County Code defines the side sewer stub and provides that "The side sewer stub shall be considered part of the building sewer and shall be maintained by the property owner."

The property owner
The building sewer, from the plumbing outlets to the sewer main, including the side sewer stub from the main to the property line or the edge of a perpetual easement. Section 13.04.010 provides that the building sewer "is not part of the public sewer facilities" and that "Building sewers shall be maintained by the property owner."

What else is worth knowing

The dividing point is the County's sewer main. The Code defines the side sewer tee as the fitting where the stub joins the main but does not say who keeps it. Section 13.04.010 provides that "Public sewer facilities shall be owned, operated, and maintained by the County", and private sewer facilities, which include side sewer stubs, are the owner's unless an agreement, easement or contract with a sewer provider assigns them otherwise. Repairing or modifying a building sewer needs a County sewer service permit. This answer applies where Pierce County is your sewer utility. The County's sewer service area includes areas planned for sewer, so a property inside it may still be on a septic system; check the name on your sewer bill.

Sources

Pierce County Code section 13.04.010, Definitions

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:
    Pierce County Planning and Public Works - a sewer service permit
    What it covers:
    new connections to the public sewer system and any modification, repair, disconnection, inspection or addition to an existing building sewer

    Pierce County Code section 13.04.055 provides that "A sewer service permit and/or sewer line extension permit shall be required for any new connection to the public sewer system or for any modification, repair, disconnection, inspection, or addition to an existing building sewer or sewer line extension, or discharge of additional wastewater."

    What to do: Before repairing, modifying or disconnecting a building sewer, apply to Pierce County for a sewer service permit and pay the review fees.

    Why this matters

    The owner maintains the whole building sewer, including the side sewer stub in the street. A County sewer service permit is needed before repairing, modifying or disconnecting it.

    Checked

    Pierce County Code section 13.04.055

    Also quoted:

What this page cannot tell you

  • No assistance or grant programme has been reviewed for this jurisdiction yet.
  • BelowGrid holds no separate map of sewer providers here. This page gives Pierce County Sewer's own answer, for the area inside the boundary BelowGrid holds for it; look up an address to see whose answer applies there.

Who governs and serves this area

Jurisdiction
Pierce County Sewer (special district)
Sewer service
No separate map of sewer providers is held here. This page gives Pierce County Sewer’s own answer, for the area inside the boundary BelowGrid holds for it. Look up an address to see whose answer applies there, or check the name on your sewer bill.

How this compares to neighbouring districts

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

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

Look up a specific address

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

Search for an address