Who repairs a sewer line that runs through an easement behind your building?

Look at where the pipe starts and what it serves.

• Public main: a city-controlled sewer that serves more than one customer and ends at a city manhole. Scottsdale defines a public sewer as a "main or trunk sewer controlled and maintained by the City."
• Private line: the pipe that carries your building's waste to the public sewer. Scottsdale defines a private sewer as "any wastewater collection system other than the POTW," and says "All private sewers shall be maintained by the property owner."
• Private main: a line that serves several buildings on one site, like a strip center. Surprise defines a private sewer as "a lateral, main or trunk sewer controlled and maintained by a private entity."

The city's sewer maps, your as-built drawings and a camera run can all settle it. A camera shows where the line goes and where it joins the main.

For non-residential property, the owner pays for the private line, even where it sits in an easement or the street. Here is the text.

• Scottsdale. "Building sewers and sewer laterals are private up to and including the tap on the public sewer and are to be owned and maintained by the property owner or the property's association or management firm except as otherwise described below." For commercial users: "The user, account holder, owner or property management association shall be responsible for the cleaning, unstopping, repair, and/or replacement of building sewers and sewer lateral up to and including the connection to the public sewer main and all associated costs." The city's repair option applies only to residential laterals.
• Surprise. Single-family and duplex users get limited city repair help for off-property laterals. "All other users shall be responsible for cleaning, unstopping, maintaining and repairing the building sewer, sewer lateral and sewer tap," and "Whenever damage requires repair/replacement and off-property excavation, the contractor shall obtain from the city a permit to perform the repair/replacement and an encroachment permit to work in the public right-of-way."
• Tempe. "The building service line and private mains shall consist of all piping, both on the owner's property and in the city right-of-way, down to and including the tap and tapping saddle on the city sewer main." The owner "shall be responsible for cleaning, unstopping, maintenance and repair."
• Phoenix. The city repair language in Phoenix code is written for "single-family or duplex property." If a break in a single-family service is verified in the right-of-way, the city repairs it. The text does not extend that to commercial property, so confirm with the city before you assume it.
• Goodyear. The rule that the city repairs a verified break in the right-of-way is written for the "residential account holder."

The pattern: city help is aimed at homes. A commercial owner should assume the line is theirs until the city says otherwise in writing.

Not by itself. But it changes how you work. Scottsdale's code says "Building sewers and sewer laterals shall not be installed in a public utility easement or Right-of-Way except to directly connect to a public sewer," so a private line is not supposed to run along an easement at all. If you find one, ask the city how it was approved. Scottsdale also puts the surface on you: "Unless otherwise indicated on the dedicating document, all easements including public utility, water, and sewer easements shall be maintained by the private property owner in the same manner as rights-of-way."

If the work stays on your property, you need the plumbing permit and Arizona 811. If the digging goes into the easement or the street, add the agency's right-of-way or easement permit. Surprise names both a repair permit and an encroachment permit. Our pages on whether a plumber needs permission to work in a utility easement and commercial plumbing work in the street cover the approvals.

If the pipe crosses someone else's land to reach yours, you also need that owner's easement. See whether you can run a line across a neighbor's lot.

1. 1Get a camera inspection. It shows the break, its depth and whether it is before or after the connection to the main.
2. 2Pull the records. As-builts, the plat, and the city's sewer map.
3. 3Ask the city to confirm in writing where its responsibility starts.
4. 4Check the lease. Landlord and tenant duties are set in the lease, not the sewer code. For a city-by-city look at the city side of the line, see who is responsible for the sewer line in Phoenix.
5. 5Plan permits before the excavator arrives.

For the full by-city table, see the sewer line ownership by Valley city comparison.

HQ Plumbing & Air inspects building sewer lines with a camera and repairs them, with free estimates and upfront pricing, and is licensed and insured. Repairs that reach the easement or street come with the permits described above.

This page explains general rules and is not legal advice. City codes and your lease control, and facts like where the pipe actually runs decide each case.