IT JUST NEVER STOPS!

One of the things that has been taking up a considerable amount of my time the past year or so is my attending as many of the Board of Director meetings and various Committee meetings of the local water and sewer Utility as I can. You’re probably thinking: “Man, this guy needs to get a life!” Well, that is probably true, but the other side to that subject is my personal realization some time back, that, if we thought the oil shortage and exorbitant price increase in fuel hurt and adversely affected our lives, wait ‘till we see what a shortage of water will do to our way of life! Attending all of those meetings has really enlightened me in how our local Utility goes about supplying us with clean drinking water as well as how they handle the sewage that flows out of our homes. I’ve also learned how drinking water and sewage/waste treatment have become linked in many cases as wastewater that is not properly handled does affect water quality. During the course of attending all of these meetings, I have learned of only some of the myriad of laws, regulations and mandates that the Utility has to comply with that seem to be coming in an unending stream from the State and Federal Government. None of these ‘directives’ are easy or cheap to comply with, and the whole situation is so convoluted and wide ranging that there is no time or place here to even begin to explain it. But, where I’m going with this is how it comes into play for a homeowner or purchaser.

As a homeowner or prospective home purchaser, how are you to know anything about these various directives and whether they have any direct impact on you? About all most people know is the fees you pay the Utility for the services they provide to you. But things are getting interesting now. The State Water Board has begun collecting and cataloging data on wastewater and sewage spills and surfacing occurrences. The State Water Board, in their infinite wisdom, has also ruled that the local Utilities are some how responsible for spills/surfacing that occurs on private property from sewer laterals (pipe) from the home/structure to the sewer main operated by the Utility. Of course, the Utility never installed the sewer lateral, has had no way to maintain it in any fashion over the years, and, has absolutely no idea what condition it is in. To make things worse, the State Water Board through the Central Valley Regional Water District will assess steep fines on the Utility should a spill or surface occur. So the Utilities have had to scramble and many have instituted new regulations and requirements on homeowners so that the Utilities can inspect (usually by video camera in the pipe) the sewer laterals to determine their condition.

This is where you, as the property owner comes in. If the test and/or inspection of the sewer lateral finds that it is cracked/broken, choked with tree roots and/or blocked or choked down by grease and debris, you will be obligated to bring the sewer lateral into compliance and proper operating condition immediately (usually 30 days or so) and at your expense. Repairs such as this may require engineering, heavy equipment, building permits and properly licensed Contractors using specified materials. All of this will cost a pretty penny! I’m telling you all of this because no one else probably will, and, buried, inaccessible pipes and systems such as sewer and septic systems are beyond the scope of a Home Inspection. If you are thinking of purchasing a piece of property with a structure on it, you need to do your due diligence and contact your local Utility that is providing water and sewer service to the property to find out what your obligations are going to be after you have taken title to it. You also may well wish to invest in a video camera test/inspection of the sewer lateral lines by an appropriate Contractor to determine it’s condition prior to the close of escrow so you don’t get any nasty surprises after the close date when you then own it – property and problem. Yes, it just keeps coming, it never stops!