Your Side Sewer
A side sewer carries wastewater from a building's sinks, toilets, and drains to the public sewer in the street.
If you own your home or building, you own your side sewer to the public sewer main. The sewer main is located under a street near your home.
Graphic shows sewer pipe responsibility, which extends to the sewer mainline.
Support
Side sewers in Seattle are privately-owned and are an important part of the sewer system. Find resources here to help you understand, protect, maintain, and if needed, repair your side sewer.
- Report active flooding, sewer backups, leaks, and spills at (206) 386-1800.
- Contact (206) 684-5362 for a side sewer permit or visit the permit webpage
- Need financial help to repair your side sewer? Interest-free loans are now available for low or fixed income customers. Find out if you're eligible for financial assistance.
Sewer Guides
- Use this guide to learn about Taking Care of Your Sewer Pipe
- Learn to Troubleshooting Your Sewer Problem with this guide
SPU’s side sewer program
We can help with:
- Establishing repair responsibility: Me or SPU?
- Finding your side sewer’s location on our mapping system
- Reviewing your side sewer scope video where the connection may be damaged
- Notifying neighbor(s) about responsibility for repairs on shared side sewers
- Checking on the status or outcome of a side sewer related request of a SPU work crew
- Checking to see if we have an inspection video showing the status of your side sewer connection
- General questions about responsibility for tree roots in your side sewer
Contact us at SideSewerRequests@seattle.gov
Related Programs