Side sewer review and inspection is conducted by DPD’s Site Development Team. Staff handles the issuance and inspection of approximately 3,000 permits annually for side sewer construction, and provides coaching and side sewer information to customers in the DPD Applicant Services Center, as well as by phone, email and the Internet.
The City of Seattle requires that a side sewer permit be issued before work begins on all side sewers, including new installations, alterations, repairs, capping, relocations, removals, and conditional and temporary dewatering work. The permit for this work will cover all proposed side sewer work located on-site and within the public right-of-way. Both service lines may be included on the same permit application.
Emergency work is allowed without getting a permit in advance, but a permit should be obtained from DPD the next City working day or online for side sewer repairs.
Due to changes made to the side sewer program the permit holder is now responsible for:
- preparing as-built plans
- preparing agreements, such as easements (however, DPD will process agreement recording with the King County Recorder’s Office)
- connecting side sewers to adjoining private side sewer systems
- coordinating work with other agencies, such as SDOT for street backfill and surface restoration and SPU for core tap scheduling.
- side sewer permits for temporary dewatering on construction sites
DPD will maintain and update the list of Registered Side Sewer Contractors (RSSC) for side sewer construction located in the public right-of-way. For single family residences, owners may perform the work occurring on their private property.
