City obligated to provide sewer connection?

[bdog]

Thanks for the replies. I am aware the city is only responsible for up to their connection point and the homeowner is responsible for the line from the house to that connection.

I guess what I am getting at is due to poor city planning or zoning or ordinances or whatever this situation occurred. It just seems to me the city should be required to provide a connection point for each house that doesn't require going across someone else's property.

 

[GPintheMitten]

I agree to check with the Public works dept of the town.

My sister had a sewer line that the original builder T'd into the neighbors line that went to the sewer. When the line clogged, the neighbor called the city and she had to put her own line from her house to the sewer line. The city was going to charge her a connection fee but I went with her and met with the City manager and DPW. We were able to argue successfully that there should be no fee because the house was originally connected following the regs at the time. Later they changed the regs and each dwelling had to have their own direct connection to the sewer.

It still cost her about $2000 for her part.

 

[aczlan]

If you can still go though the neghibors yard, you might look at using a pipe bursting replacement for the exesting line. See: Trenchless sewer replacement runs risks - SFGate for some info on the subject and here is a video of the procedure:

And a video of one in action: TRIC Tools - V24 Puller - YouTube Contractor finds niche using TRIC trenchless equipment - June 213 Cleaner Video Profile - YouTube

Aaron Z

 

[Sprinklerman]

The prescriptive easement sounds like your best bet . Right now a friend is trying to stop 4 houses from being built next to him . But it is a private road . the builder has a access easement on the road in front of the guy I know .But the builder found out just recently he does not have a utility easement . The builder paid 200K for the lots .And cant build unless my buddy gives him an easement . The fight is just beginning

 

[EddieWalker]

...I guess what I am getting at is due to poor city planning or zoning or ordinances or whatever this situation occurred. It just seems to me the city should be required to provide a connection point for each house that doesn't require going across someone else's property.

Sadly, what you pay for in taxes for Water and Sewer has very little to do with actually providing you with water and sewer. Most of their expense is in fixing what was done poorly in the past. Your situation isn't unique. Mostly it happened before their was code, or before the land was part of the city. When the city expands, it inherits all sorts of unique problems that they struggle to deal with. It would be nice if they just fixed everything, but the owners of the land and homes also have their rights and it becomes very challenging to decide who's rights are more important. Yours or the person that doesn't want their home tore up to fix your problem when there is no benefit for them.

A good friend back in CA bought a house out in the country a few miles outside of city limits. The house cost him a million dollars and he splits the mortgage with his wife and mother in law. Each pays $2,000 a month!!! This is about all they can afford, they are slaves to their mortgage. The city expanded down the canyon past their house and then ran water and sewer along the road. Every house is now required to use this new service that the city is providing. Cost for the meter and the city to hook up the water and sewer lines is $30,000 for every house, and then you have to have a licensed plumber run the lines to the house. These are country properties. Many of them are lower then the sewer line, so they have to install a lift station to pump their sewage up to the sewer tap. The total cost for all this on my friends house is right around $100,000