What permit does Paradise Valley require to connect to the sewer?

Section 15-2-5 has two prohibitions:

• (A) Digging: no person, corporation or firm may dig up a street, alley or right-of-way under the Town's jurisdiction to connect with the Town sewer system without a permit from the Town Engineer. Anyone with a permit who digs must restore the street, alley or right-of-way to its original condition.
• (B) The sewer itself: no one may uncover, connect to, open into, use, alter or disturb any public sewer or its appurtenances without a permit from the Town Engineer.

Section 15-2-10 covers the building connection application. The applicant presents a valid plumbing permit, issued by the Town Building Official or an authorized representative, to the Town Engineer. The plumbing permit is a prerequisite for approval of the building connection. Applications for building connections built by Public Works must come with the current fee for that work.

New subdivisions work differently. Under Sec. 15-2-6, where the Town Engineer has authorized public sewer extensions built at the subdivider's expense, the Engineer may let the subdivider or an agent install building connections with wyes and connect the building sewers. The work must be supervised by an Arizona registered civil engineer, who submits as-built plans with the registration number and seal to the Town Engineer. Connections serving lots with no building yet must be effectively sealed until a building goes up.

The right-of-way itself has its own permit in Sec. 5-10-1, explained on our right-of-way permit page.

• Public sewer and appurtenances: the Town's sewer main and things attached to it, such as manholes and wyes. Touching any of them needs the permit.
• Building connection: the pipe that ties a building's sewer to the public sewer. Section 15-2-10 treats approval of the connection as a separate step from the plumbing permit.
• Town Engineer versus Building Official: the Town Engineer approves the connection and digging. The Building Official issues the plumbing permit that the Engineer's approval depends on.

Owners, developers and their contractors who connect to, or repair at, the public sewer. It does not decide who owns the lateral or who pays for repairs, and Paradise Valley's code sections read for this page do not either. Many Paradise Valley properties are on septic and not on sewer at all, and a septic system follows different permits.

A new office building. The plumbing contractor pulls the plumbing permit from the Building Official, presents it to the Town Engineer with the connection application, and receives the sewer permit. The street trench also needs the right-of-way permit.

A repair at the tap. A failed connection at the main means uncovering the public sewer appurtenance, and that needs the Town Engineer's permit even for a repair.

The edge case: the street is not restored. A contractor who digs under a permit and leaves the pavement rough is violating 15-2-5(A). The restoration duty is part of the same sentence as the permit.

1. 1Confirm you are on the Town sewer and not septic. If unsure, ask Town permitting and the sewer utility serving the property.
2. 2Ask Town permitting for the current plumbing permit process and apply first.
3. 3Bring that permit with your connection application to the Town Engineer.
4. 4Ask your contractor to pull the right-of-way permit before any street work.
5. 5Plan the restoration of the street, alley or right-of-way in the contract.

• "The plumbing permit lets us tap the sewer." It is a prerequisite. The Town Engineer's approval is a separate step.
• "A repair does not need a permit." Uncovering or disturbing a public sewer or appurtenance does.
• "Restoration is optional." The code makes leaving the street unrestored a violation.

This page summarizes the code. The adopted text on Municode governs.