Evaluating Private Sewer Lines in the Right-of-Way
Environmental Services staff evaluates applications for acceptance or adoption.
Acceptance Requirements
- The sewer line serves residentially-zone properties
- The sewer line is at least eight inches in diameter
- There is a clean-out for the line where it connects to the city sewer system
- The line meets current city standards or standards in effect at the time of original construction
- Materials meet standards of Section 4.2 of the Sewer and Drainage Facilities Design Manual (SDFDM)
- Adequate depth of cover materials and slope to drain by gravity to the city sewer system per SDFDM Section 4.4
- Is located within a position in the right-of-way consistent with Oregon Administrative Rules Chapter 340.052 Appendix A section (1)(i) and (2)(i)
- All property owners served by the line apply to the Bureau of Environmental Services via a public works permit for acceptance and pay all application, review, permit, transfer of ownership and other fees in Section 9 of the November 2012 Nonconforming Sewer Conversion Rules
- All property owners served by the sewer have signed and notarized transfer-of-ownership agreements relinquishing ownership of the sewer
- The line has been cleaned and its condition verified with a closed-circuit video or other city-approved inspection method within the previous six months and Environmental Services has given the line a grade of 2 or better according to the bureau System Plan
- A pipe survey and as-built drawings are not required. Environmental Services will provide them as part of the permitting process
Adoption Requirements
- Line is at least six inches in diameter
- Line has a clean-out upstream of the portion to be adopted
- Environmental Services has graded the line as 4 or better acccording to the scale in Section 7.A.7 of the November 2012 Nonconforming Sewer Conversion Rules
- All property owners served by the private line must sign and submit to the city a transfer of ownership
- The property owners pays a city branch charge
- All property owners connected to the line make an official adoption request that includes the following:
- Documentation of the physical location of the sewer, either electronically or physically, and its route from the properties being served to the existing public sewer connection
- Documentation that the sewer is clean and that the pipe's condition has been verified with closed-circuit video or other city-approved inspection method within the previous six months
Environmental Services staff will evaluate the request and make one of four decisions:
- The city will adopt the line as-is
- The line needs repair to meet the eligibility criteria in Section 7.B.1 of the November 2012 Nonconforming Sewer Conversion Rules
- The properties served by the sewer meet the Systems Improvement Decision Criteria in Section 6 of the November 2012 Nonconforming Sewer Conversion Rules and the city already has plans (subject to change) to provide a new public sewer adjacent to the property within two years based on current budget priorities
- The line does not meet the criteria and the city will not accept or adopt the line