Coastal View Article

We are all connected. At least if you’re a customer of the Carpinteria Sanitary District you are. The pipe connecting your home or business to the district’s main sewer in the street is called a sewer lateral. And while mostly out of sight and out of mind, sewer laterals are a hidden but crucial part of the wastewater collection system.  

Typically four inches in diameter, sewer laterals are designed to convey wastewater from showers, toilets, washing machines, dishwashers and other household sources. These pipelines are now made from plastic or PVC, but decades ago, laterals were primarily constructed using vitrified clay pipe or cast iron pipe. There was a period of time following World War II when sewer laterals were installed using a pipe made from compressed paper impregnated with tar, called Orangeburg pipe. 

What’s vital to both the function of your home’s plumbing and the public sewer system is that laterals are maintained and functioning properly. Ignoring maintenance until there’s a system failure can lead to sewage backups and costly repairs. These problems, which always seem to happen at the most inconvenient times, have a few primary causes. 

The main culprit in most lateral blockages are tree roots. Roots from trees and shrubs aggressively seek out moisture inside the lateral and will enter the pipe through cracks and joints. Once they tap into the source of water, roots can grow incredibly fast and in short order can damage the pipe or, more commonly, can restrict flow or completely block the sewer lateral. 

Discharge of fats, oils and grease – referred to as FOG in our business – can also be very detrimental to sewer laterals. FOG will congeal and stick to the inside of your lateral. Over time, the grease can accumulate and block the flow causing a backup into your home. 

Although you should expect 50 years of faithful service from a new pipe, buried sewer laterals can simply degrade over time. Cast iron pipe is prone to deterioration from the inside. Clay sewer pipe does not corrode, but it can be damaged by earthquakes or shifting soils. Orangeburg pipe, the worst of the worst, will get saturated and collapse completely.  

In most jurisdictions, the sewer lateral is entirely the responsibility of the property owner. When necessary, homeowners get to pay for repair and replacement of the entire lateral including the very expensive portion within the public right of way. Digging up streets and sidewalks is not cheap! 

In Carpinteria, however, the sanitary district is responsible for a portion of your sewer lateral – with one caveat. Here, we differentiate between the two discrete sections of your sewer lateral. The upper lateral is the segment between your home and the property line. Homeowners are always responsible for repair and maintenance of the upper lateral.  

The lower lateral is the section between the property line and the district’s sewer main, generally located in the center of the street. Provided you have an approved cleanout at or near your property line – that’s the caveat – the district will be responsible for the lower lateral and perform any required maintenance, repair or replacement within that section of pipe. A cleanout is a riser pipe that is used to access the lateral for inspection and maintenance purposes.  

This shared responsibility can mean major savings for individual property owners when lower lateral problems do arise. Carpinteria Sanitary District is one just a handful of Southern California wastewater utility providers that perform maintenance and repair on lower laterals. 

This service encourages proper maintenance of the lines to improve the longevity and proper function of the entire system. It also allows us to identify lateral issues, like root intrusion or groundwater infiltration, that have the potential to affect the critical main sewer system. Each year we inspect and maintain hundreds of lower laterals throughout our service area. 

Like with most things, maintenance is the key to extending the life of the upper lateral on your private property and preventing costly backups. If you detect a disruption to your home plumbing, like slow draining fixtures, it’s important to have that diagnosed quickly. Licensed plumbing contractors can determine whether issues are related to your home plumbing or to your sewer lateral. If you suspect the problem is in the lower lateral, and you have a property line cleanout, contact the district and our staff will investigate. Periodic video inspection of your lateral can be the difference between detecting and repairing a pipe defect early or ending up with a major plumbing failure and a big bill.  

If you do end up needing major sewer lateral repairs, we always advise getting multiple bids from qualified contractors. A permit from the district is required to ensure that the work is done correctly and according to applicable standards, and our staff is always available to assist and provide guidance on lateral repairs. 

As mentioned at the outset we are all connected. When sewer laterals are malfunctioning or compromised, they can impact the environment, or the sewage collection and treatment systems relied upon by the entire community. By working together with our customers to raise awareness and encourage proactive maintenance, we can all end up in a better place. As they say, teamwork makes the sewer lateral dream work.