Who Is Responsible for the Sewer Line From Your House to the Street?

The short answer

In most of Northern Virginia, you are. The pipe from your house to the public sewer, called the sewer lateral, belongs to the homeowner in Fairfax County, Arlington, Leesburg and the City of Fairfax, and it’s yours there even where it runs under the street. Loudoun Water fixes the piece under the public right of way itself. Prince William Water is the other exception: your part stops at the edge of the right of way. When the main line backs up, call your sewer utility first. If the clog is in their pipe, they clear it.

What the sewer lateral is

Every drain in the house runs to one main drain, and that leaves through the foundation wall as a single pipe, usually four inches across. Outside, that pipe is the lateral. It runs under the yard, often under the sidewalk and part of the street, and ties into the public sewer main. Somewhere along it, usually near the house or the property line, there’s a sewer cleanout, the capped pipe a plumber opens to get a machine or a camera into the line. On an older house the lateral is often clay or Orangeburg, which is why the age of the line matters as much as who owns it.

Who owns what, utility by utility

From each utility’s own pages, November 2026. Not sure which one is yours? It’s the name on your sewer bill.

Falls Church, Vienna, Herndon and the Manassas cities each set their own rule. The utility named on your sewer bill can tell you where its pipe ends and yours begins.

Why you call the utility first

Fairfax County, Arlington, Loudoun Water and Leesburg all ask you to call them before a plumber. They’ll check their own sewer main, and if the backup is in their pipe, they deal with it. Arlington and Leesburg both say they clear their side for free. If their main is flowing fine, the clog is in your lateral, and that’s when you call a plumber. It’s a short call that can save you paying for a visit you didn’t need.

One more thing to know. The free 811 line marking before you dig doesn’t mark private sewer laterals, and Fairfax County says it doesn’t mark them either. Finding yours is usually a camera job.

When the clog is in your part

Water coming up in a floor drain or the lowest shower, toilets gurgling when the washer drains, every drain slow at once: that’s the main line, and main sewer line clog walks through the signs. If it’s already in the basement, start with sewer backup in the basement. A plumber clears the lateral from the cleanout all the way to the main. That runs $550 to $1,650.

If it keeps coming back, a camera answers both questions at once: what’s wrong, and how far from the house it is. The distance tells you whether the problem is under your yard or out under the street, which is exactly what decides who handles it where the utility owns that piece. The camera is $89 added to a visit. When a sewer camera inspection is worth it explains what you’ll see.

Repairs under the sidewalk or the street

A broken lateral under your yard is a dig on your property. Under the sidewalk or the street it gets more involved. Fairfax County notes that work in the state road right of way needs a VDOT permit. Loudoun Water wants an 811 ticket before digging and inspects the new pipe before it’s covered. That’s a big part of why trenchless sewer repair makes sense out at the street: the line gets lined or replaced from a hole or two instead of a trench across the road. What a new sewer line costs has the prices.

Does insurance cover it?

Often not on a standard homeowners policy. Many leave out a worn-out sewer line, and many leave out the water damage from a backup too. Insurers sell add-ons for each, usually called service line coverage and sewer backup coverage. Ask yours which you have before you need it.

Two local programs are worth knowing. The City of Fairfax runs a lateral repair program that pays back part of a repair for a small yearly fee, and it can approve an emergency repair within four hours, so call the city before the work starts. Alexandria pays back part of the cost of a backflow preventer, the valve that keeps the city sewer from backing up into your house.

Buying a house

Find out which utility serves it, then get the lateral scoped before you close. You’re buying that pipe all the way to the street in most of Northern Virginia, so it’s worth seeing it. Buying an older house: what to check has the rest of the list.

A slow main line is one of the warning lights a house gives you before a backup. Error codes and warning lights at home covers the rest of them.

When you’d rather we do it

A sink clogged at the trap is $99 with our sink clearing offer, up to the P-trap. A toilet, tub, shower or any drain past the trap is drain cleaning, $200 to $800. The main line to the street runs $550 to $1,650, and when grease or roots keep coming back, hydro jetting clears the pipe wall. You get the price before we start. A plumbing diagnosis visit is $49, or $250 after hours.

Call (703) 997-9757, day or night, or see every current deal on our offers page. Rated 5.0 stars across 1,138 reviews on Google, Angi, Yelp, the BBB and Facebook, Virginia Class A license 2705192276.

Questions people ask

Who is responsible for the sewer line from the house to the street in Northern Virginia?

Usually the homeowner, all the way to the public main, in Fairfax County, Arlington, Leesburg and the City of Fairfax. Loudoun Water repairs the part in the public right of way, Prince William Water stops the owner’s part at the right-of-way line, and in Alexandria it depends on when the line was laid.

What is a sewer lateral?

The pipe that carries everything from your house to the public sewer main. It runs under the yard and often under the sidewalk and street too.

Should I call the county or a plumber first for a sewer backup?

The utility first. Fairfax County, Arlington, Loudoun Water and Leesburg all ask for that, so they can check their own sewer before you pay for a visit.

Is the sewer line under the street my responsibility?

In Fairfax County, Arlington and Leesburg, yes, the lateral is yours even under the street. Loudoun Water repairs its part in the public right of way, and Prince William Water’s policy ends your part at the right-of-way line.

Does homeowners insurance cover a broken sewer line?

Often not on a standard policy. Ask your insurer about service line coverage and sewer backup coverage, which are usually sold as add-ons.