Verify the private sewer boundary before approving excavation

DECISION GUIDE 27

Make the next action fit the evidence

Use the condition described here to narrow the first safe action, the responsible contact, and the written authorization.

Do not pay for certainty that the observable pattern does not support.

OBSERVE

Preserve the useful clues

Confirm the parcel, connection, cleanouts, easements, and city records for the actual address. A blockage location and a maintenance boundary are related but not identical facts.

Write the time, fixture, room, and use that preceded the change.
Photograph the wider context before taking a detail view.
Keep model labels, bills, prior repair records, and test results together.

CONTAIN

Choose the safe boundary

Report public overflows through the city’s current channel. Do not authorize right-of-way work or assume city ownership from a camera distance alone.

Containment should reduce harm without erasing evidence or transferring risk to gas, electricity, wastewater, finishes, or utility equipment.

AUTHORIZE

Put the first scope in writing

The proposal should identify ownership assumptions, locating evidence, permits, access, bypass, excavation, pipe work, inspection, surface restoration, and closeout records.

Ask what is included, excluded, and still unknown.
Set the price or authorization boundary before work expands.
Define the test or record that will show completion.

SANTA ROSA SOURCE

Check the current public guidance

Santa Rosa 2025 Sewer System Management Plan

The plan states the user-maintenance boundary for laterals and related devices.

Before the visit Preserve the pattern and clear only safe access.
At diagnosis Ask what observation or measurement supports the conclusion.
Before repair Verify the legal provider and compare the complete written scope.
At closeout Review tests, remaining limits, permits, cleanup, and documents.