Sewer

The City of Long Beach owns, operates and maintains the sanitary sewer system that carries water from toilets, showers, sinks, and dish and clothes washers away from homes and businesses. In fact, most of the water used by customers ultimately makes its way to and through the sanitary sewer system.

Long Beach Utilities operates and maintains over 700 miles of sanitary sewer lines, safely collecting and delivering over 40 million gallons of wastewater per day to the Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County for treatment.

Long Beach Water Reclamation Plant, is located on the east side of the City. The plant is owned and operated by the Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County. LBWRP treats approximately 18 million gallons per day of wastewater to stringent regulatory standards for disinfected tertiary recycled (or reclaimed) water.

Once it meets certain levels of treatment, tertiary recycled water can be used to:

1. Irrigate parks, golf courses, cemeteries and athletic fields
2. Recharge our groundwater basin
3. Street sweep

The Sanitary Sewer System: who’s responsible for what?

The pipe that conveys wastewater from your property to the city sewer main is called the sewer lateral. There are two sections to a lateral:

• The first section runs from the building to the sidewalk/property line, commonly 4” in diameter (on private property) is the property owner’s responsibility
• The second section runs from sidewalk/property line, to the center of the street/alley commonly 6” in diameter (on city property) is a shared responsibility between the property owner and the City
• The property owner is responsible for the routine maintenance of both sections of the sewer lateral. (LBWD Policy Section 1406: Sewer Lateral Responsibility, Appendix 1)

Need to file a claim with the City?

BEFORE YOU FILE A CLAIM

If your claim involves Tree Maintenance/Request Removal, please visit Public Works-Street Trees for additional information on the City’s Tree Maintenance Policy. 

If your claim involves damages related to your sewer or water line, please review the diagram above that explains who is responsible.  If it is the City visit: 

How to file a claim

For sewer emergencies and overflows please call (562) 570-2390

For non-emergencies, please email SewerService@lbutilities.org and we will respond to your inquiry during regular business hours.

If you are having any of the following issues, please contact us at (562) 570-2390 so we can resolve it immediately:

1. A noisy sewer manhole near your home
2. Sewer odor in the neighborhood
3. Insects coming from the sewer manhole

Sewer Backups – Find out what to do when your home is experiencing a sewer backup.

Healthy Sewers – Learn more about how to keep our sewers healthy.

Important Documents

• Map of Service Area(PDF, 271KB)
• Rules & Regulations(PDF, 868KB)
• Sewer System Management Plan (SSMP)(PDF, 79MB)