Realtors, Council Oppose Sewer Lateral Ordinance That Would Place Burden on Seller

Realtors and the San Carlos city council alike opposed an ordinance that would require sewer laterals - the part of the toilet that carries the waste to the street sewer. to be inspected upon the sale of a home, officials said. 

The law states that sewer laterals must be inspected for a number of different reasons, some of them being in the case of an overflow, or when an owner makes improvements to the house.

"One point that was controversial and opposed by the realtors, and the city council agreed, was the idea that an inspection should occur when a property was sold," said city engineer Robert Weil.

Realtors noted that putting the burden of repairing a lateral on the seller is unfair. In addition, the law could impact troubled sales and short sales. 

"It can be a costly process, so I understand why they would feel this way," said Weil.

According to city records, "between the beginning of 2005 and the end of 2009, the City of San Carlos experienced an average of 63 sanitary sewer overflows each year, 47 from sewer mains and 16 from sewer laterals."

Records said, "the Consent Decree requires the City to reduce the number of sanitary sewer overflows by 2017 to no more than 4 each year, 2 from sewer mains and 2 from sewer laterals."

The city council has asked Weil and the Public Works Department to become more aggressive, a statement Weil said he interprets as "having the city take the initiative to make repairs on its own, without waiting for sales."

Weil said an engineering study  - entitled the "Sewer Master Plan" - will be completed by RMC Water and Environment in about six months, at which point the city will know how long this process will take and how much it will cost.