Plumber in Covina, CA

Sewer Lateral Rules

Covina Sewer Line Responsibility: Homeowner or City?

In Covina, the homeowner maintains the sewer lateral from the house to the city’s sewer main, which is typically in the street. That includes the part of the lateral inside the City’s right-of-way: under the sidewalk, under the parkway and its tree, and under the roadway itself. The city describes that maintenance as keeping the lateral flowing and free of debris such as tree roots, and the homeowner’s part ends where the lateral meets the main.

Who Pays When a Parkway Tree’s Roots Block a Sewer Line in Covina?

The homeowner. Covina’s guidance says the owner’s duty extends to the lateral’s surroundings, nearby trees and their root systems included, and the city will not remove a parkway tree only because its roots are in a sewer lateral. Since roots generally get in only where the pipe already leaks, the lasting fix is a sound pipe: clear the roots, find the break on camera, then repair or line that stretch.

Who Is Responsible for a Sewer Line Blockage Under the Sidewalk in Covina?

The homeowner, under the same rule. We clear a backed-up main line from the outside cleanout; if the house has none, we go in through a toilet or the roof vent, and we can add a cleanout once the line is flowing. The camera inspection that follows every clearing shows whether the trouble sits under the sidewalk, the parkway or the street. Our first choice for a failed lateral is a repair with no trench, and we dig when the pipe leaves no alternative. Should the job call for cutting into the street, we carry the repair through that portion as well, under the encroachment permit the city’s engineering staff issue.

Repairing a Covina Sewer Lateral in the Right-of-Way

• An encroachment permit comes first. Sewer lateral work in the public right-of-way needs an encroachment permit from the city’s engineering staff, and the city issues it only to a state-licensed contractor, not to a homeowner.

• Inspection is booked ahead. The city inspects before the work starts and again when it is done, and it asks for that first inspection to be scheduled at least a week before the start date.

• Weekday daytime hours. Work in the right-of-way runs Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.; anything outside those hours needs the city engineer’s approval in advance.

• The sidewalk and street get put back. Concrete is saw cut and replaced to match the existing color, finish and scoring, and pavement has to be restored within 30 days. A street under one of the city’s street cut moratoriums also needs a pre-construction meeting with the city’s inspector before any digging.

When a Covina Sewer Line Backs Up

• Stop running water. Every flush and every load of laundry adds to what is already backed up, and it comes out at the lowest drain in the house.

• Look at the street. Sewage coming out of a manhole in the street points to the city main rather than your lateral. Report it to Covina Public Works at (626) 384-5220.

• Find your cleanout. It is usually a capped pipe near the foundation or in the front yard. If you cannot find one, say so when you call.

• Buying a house? Look first. Our Covina sewer camera inspection for buyers comes with the video and a written summary of what the camera found.

Your Water Service

Who Supplies Water in Covina?

It depends on the address. The City of Covina runs its own water utility, serving about 33,300 people through roughly 8,500 service connections, with about 102 miles of water mains and nine reservoirs that hold 20 million gallons. That is not the whole city: the city lists other water purveyors serving parts of Covina, among them Suburban Water Company, Golden State Water and Azusa Light & Water, and publishes a map of their service areas. Your water bill names your provider, and questions about the meter or the service go to that provider.

Water for the City’s own customers comes mainly from the Covina Irrigating Company, which treats groundwater and river water from the San Gabriel Valley, with imported water from Southern California’s regional water wholesaler added when it is needed.

How Fast Does a Leak Have to Be Fixed in Covina?

Under the water use restrictions now in effect for City of Covina water customers, the rule is 48 hours: a plumbing leak, break or other malfunction has to be repaired within 48 hours of the city’s notice, unless other arrangements are made with the city, and the problem area should be isolated and shut off until the repair is done. That is easier with a working shutoff at the house, so if yours will not close, have it replaced along with the leak.

How Can I Tell If My Covina House Has a Hidden Leak?

If you are on the City’s system, the auto-read meter can tell you. Lift the meter box lid outside, open the black cover on the register so light reaches its solar cell (use a flashlight if there is no sun), and check the leak icon. For a sense of scale, the city notes that a faucet dripping once a second wastes more than 3,000 gallons a year. If the meter points to a leak you cannot see, we trace it with listening equipment and tracer gas before anyone opens a wall or a slab.

Additional Information

Does plumbing work in Covina need a permit?

For most of it, yes. Covina’s Building and Safety Division requires a plumbing permit whenever a plumbing system is installed, altered, repaired, replaced or remodeled, and its own list includes every water heater change-out and any water, sewer or gas line that is installed or repaired. Minor plumbing work goes through as an express permit, and most permits are issued while you wait at City Hall, 125 East College Street. The free estimate covers whether a permit applies. We can pull the permit for you, or you can pull it yourself if you prefer.

Is my Covina address inside the city?

Not always, and it matters for permits. By the city’s own rule, an address numbered over 2999, or a Covina address south of the 10 freeway, is in unincorporated Los Angeles County, so its building permits come from the county rather than from City Hall. The city’s website has a tool for checking an address’s jurisdiction, and it is worth a look before a permit is pulled.

When does Covina inspect plumbing work?

Monday through Thursday. City Hall is open those four days, and the city schedules no building inspections from Friday through Sunday or on holidays. An inspection requested before 3 p.m. goes on the next business day’s route, and any permitted work has to be inspected before it is covered up, so a new pipe in a wall or a trench stays open until the inspector has seen it.

Call Our Covina Plumbers

An old lateral usually gives warnings before it gives out: a toilet that gurgles while the washer drains, a shower that backs up during a load of laundry, water standing in the cleanout. Calling at the first warning can mean a cleaning and a camera look instead of a sewage cleanup.

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