Plumber in Arcadia, CA

The Lateral and the Main

Arcadia Sewer Line Responsibility: Homeowner or City?

Arcadia answers this in its own sanitary sewer ordinance. The pipe from the house to the street is what the code calls the house connection sewer: it begins two feet outside the building wall and runs all the way to its connection with the public sewer, the main line in the street. The owner of the property it serves has to keep it in a safe and sanitary condition. The code also says plainly that the city is not responsible for maintaining or repairing a house connection sewer, or for removing a blockage in one; the city’s part is the main. From those mains the sewage flows into regional trunk sewers of the Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County, which treat it outside the city.

Who Clears a Blockage Between the House and the Street in Arcadia?

The owner, through a plumber. To clear a backed-up main line we start at the outside cleanout; where a house has none, we go in through a toilet or the roof vent, and once the line runs again we can install a cleanout. The complimentary camera inspection after every main line clearing tells you whether the trouble is under the yard, the parkway or the pavement, and we clear the lateral all the way to the city main. A lateral that needs repair gets a trenchless fix when its condition permits, and we keep excavation for the cases where nothing else will do. If the street has to be opened, that portion is part of our job too, carried out under the City Engineer’s permit, and the repair runs all the way to the main.

Repairing an Arcadia Sewer Lateral in the Public Right-of-Way

• The City Engineer issues the permit. Arcadia’s sewer code requires a permit from the City Engineer before a house connection sewer is built or altered, and the Engineering Division’s encroachment permit covers sewer repair and any excavation in the public right-of-way. Applications go to the Engineering counter at City Hall, 240 West Huntington Drive, or by email.

• Notice comes before digging. The underground utility alert line, (800) 422-4133, has to be called at least two working days before any excavation, and the city’s public works inspector at least one working day before the work begins. The finished work gets a final inspection.

• The permit has a clock on it. Work has to begin within 60 days of the permit being issued, or the permit lapses.

• No fitting on the main means a second permit. If the City Engineer decides the lateral has to join the main where no wye, tee or chimney was ever put in, the code calls for a sewer tapping permit before the house connection permit is issued.

When an Arcadia Sewer Line Backs Up

• Hold off on water. No flushing, showers or laundry until the line is clear; whatever goes down a drain comes back up at the lowest fixture in the house.

• Look at the manhole in the street. Sewage rising out of a manhole points to the city main, not your lateral. During business hours call Arcadia Public Works Services at (626) 254-2720; after hours, the city sends sewer backups and water main breaks to Arcadia Police Department dispatch at (626) 574-5123.

• Look for the cleanout. It is normally a capped pipe along the foundation or out in the front yard. No cleanout at all? Let us know when you call.

• Buying in Arcadia? Have the lateral scoped before you close. A buyer’s sewer camera inspection from us includes the video and a written summary.

Water in Arcadia

Who Supplies Water in Arcadia?

For most addresses, the City of Arcadia itself. In 1914 residents agreed to build a municipal water system and passed a bond to pay for it, and by 1916 the city had bought an existing water company, drilled wells, built reservoirs and laid thousands of feet of main. Today ten city wells draw groundwater from two basins under the valley, about 14,000 acre-feet a year, for roughly 15,600 connections, and the city can also buy treated imported water through its regional wholesaler. The city’s 2025 urban water management plan describes its service area as the majority of Arcadia, not every address, so if you are unsure who serves yours, the name on the water bill settles it.

City customers with a meter leak, unusually high use or a billing question can reach Public Works Services utility billing at (626) 254-2700.

Whose Pipe Is It at the Meter in Arcadia?

On the city’s system, the meter, the meter box and the service line to it belong to the city, which pays for repairs caused by normal wear. Past the meter, the pipes, valves and fixtures are the customer’s to keep in good repair and free of leaks, at the customer’s own expense. Arcadia’s code also asks every customer to have a shutoff valve of their own on the property side of the meter, ahead of the first branch, and it may sit inside the meter box; the valve on the street side is the city’s, not for customer use outside an emergency. Keep shrubs and ground cover off the meter box, too, because the code lets the city turn off the water to a box that stays obstructed after notice. If your own valve is seized or missing, we replace it with a working emergency shutoff valve.

Does an Arcadia Water Heater Need a Relief Valve?

When the water service has a check valve or another protective device on it, yes. Arcadia’s code requires the customer to install and maintain a pressure relief valve, at their own expense, between that device and any water heater the system feeds.

Additional Information

Does plumbing work in Arcadia need a permit?

Often, and it is a permit of its own: Arcadia issues plumbing, electrical and mechanical permits separately, through Building Services at City Hall. The city’s list of work that needs no permit includes repairing a leak in a pipe, valve or fixture and stopping a leak in a drain, sewer or vent. Inspections can be requested online up to seven days ahead, a next-day inspection has to be requested by 4:30 p.m., and work has to be inspected before the next stage of the job covers it. Whether your job needs one is something we settle at the estimate, which is free. We can pull the permit for you, or you can pull it yourself if you prefer.

When can plumbing work be done in an Arcadia neighborhood?

For planned work in residential areas, the city’s construction hours apply: 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, with no construction on Sunday or on the seven holidays the city lists. Plan a repipe or a new sewer lateral inside those hours. Our phone is answered at any hour for emergencies.

Call Our Arcadia Plumbers

A sewer lateral seldom fails without warning. A toilet that gurgles when the tub drains, a smell near the cleanout or a floor drain that seeps are the usual signs, and calling at the first one can mean a cleaning and a camera look rather than a cleanup.

Call us at (888) 855-6680 today to schedule your free estimate or same-day service in Arcadia, CA.