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Who pays for the sewer lateral in Seattle, WA

Which part of the pipe is yours

  • Sewer lateral

    Yours all the way to the main under the road

    Why, and what to do
  • Water service line

    Yours from your property line 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:
    Seattle Public Utilities - a side sewer permit from the Director of Seattle Public Utilities
    What it covers:
    connecting to a sewer or storm drain, and constructing, repairing, altering, adding to, abandoning, removing or capping a side sewer, on private property or in a public place

    Seattle Municipal Code section 21.16.070(C) provides that "Unless an emergency exists, as determined by the Director of Seattle Public Utilities, a side sewer permit must be obtained from the Director of Seattle Public Utilities before any work may be started on a side sewer located within areas served by the City's sewer and drainage infrastructure, either on private property or within a public place."

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 Seattle about the sewer lateral.

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

Who is responsible for which part

In Seattle the side sewer - the private pipe from the building to the public main - belongs to the owner or occupant, in the street as well as on the lot, up to but not including the tee, wye or connection on the main. Section 21.16.190 of the Seattle Municipal Code provides that "Side sewers, whether located in a public or private place, shall be owned, installed, operated, and maintained by the owner or occupant of the property or premises served."

The property owner
The whole side sewer. Section 21.16.190 adds that this "includes the pipe system up to, but not including, the tee, wye, or connection to the public main."

What else is worth knowing

The dividing point is the tee, wye or connection on the public main, which is not part of the side sewer. Where several properties drain through one pipe, Seattle Public Utilities states that "From the point that your sewer pipe combines with other properties' pipes, you and your neighbors share maintenance and repair responsibilities."

Sources

Seattle Municipal Code section 21.16.190, Ownership of side sewers. Ord. 97016

Also quoted:

Checked

What is required

  • Before work on the pipePermit
    Who issues it:
    Seattle Public Utilities - a side sewer permit from the Director of Seattle Public Utilities
    What it covers:
    connecting to a sewer or storm drain, and constructing, repairing, altering, adding to, abandoning, removing or capping a side sewer, on private property or in a public place

    Seattle Municipal Code section 21.16.070(C) provides that "Unless an emergency exists, as determined by the Director of Seattle Public Utilities, a side sewer permit must be obtained from the Director of Seattle Public Utilities before any work may be started on a side sewer located within areas served by the City's sewer and drainage infrastructure, either on private property or within a public place."

    What to do: Before any side sewer repair or replacement, apply to Seattle Public Utilities for a side sewer permit, and use a registered side sewer contractor for any part of the work in the street.

    Why this matters

    The owner owns and maintains the side sewer in the street as well as on the lot. Section 21.16.070(A) makes it unlawful to construct, repair, alter, add to, abandon, remove or cap a side sewer without first securing a permit and paying the fee set by Director's Rule, and work in a public place may be done only by a registered side sewer contractor.

    Current wording in force since · Checked

    Seattle Municipal Code section 21.16.070

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

  • Seattle(this page)
    the main
  • Mercer Islandabout 7 mi
    the main
  • Shorelineabout 9 mi
    the property line (conditions apply; see that page)
  • Kirklandabout 9 mi
    the main (conditions apply; see that page)
  • Bellevueabout 9 mi
    the property line (conditions apply; see that page)
  • Kentabout 17 mi
    the main, including the connection fitting on the main (conditions apply; see that page)
  • Auburnabout 23 mi
    the property line (conditions apply; see that page)
  • Enumclawabout 33 mi
    the main
  • Snoqualmieabout 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 main; your water line stops being yours at the property line.

Who owns the water service line in Seattle

Nearby cities and further reading

Look up a specific address

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

Search for an address