# Sewer Lateral in Phoenix, AZ: Who Pays? | Who Pays the Repair?

> Phoenix sewer lateral: the owner maintains the line to the city connection; the city repairs broken lines inside the public right-of-way under Code Section 28-5.

**Who pays:** owner

Phoenix: the owner maintains the lateral to the city connection, but a line that BREAKS inside the public right-of-way is the city’s repair under Code §28-5.

**Boundary:** Owner is responsible for the sewer line from the house or business to the connection with the city system. The City owns and maintains only city infrastructure in dedicated rights-of-way and utility easements, and under City Code Section 28-5 will repair BROKEN service lines within the public right-of-way.

**Property owner:** Phoenix Water Services (official Q&A PDF, updated May 2026): "we are only responsible for city owned infrastructure which are portions of the system that reside in dedicated right of ways and or utility easements. Everything from the connection to that system or point, back to the house or business is responsibility of the home or business owner."

**City / agency:** Phoenix Water Services: "The city, under City Code Section 28-5, will ONLY repair broken service lines within the public right of way." City maintains mains (5,000+ miles, ~1,200 miles cleaned/year) and performs no inspections of private lines.

**Exceptions:** Broken service line within the public right-of-way: City repairs under Code Section 28-5

## Sources
- [Phoenix Water Services: Sewer Cleaning Q&A (official PDF, updated May 2026)](https://www.phoenix.gov/content/dam/phoenix/waterservicessite/documents/Sewer_cleaning_FAQs_2026.pdf) — "we are only responsible for city owned infrastructure which are portions of the system that reside in dedicated right of ways and or utility easements. Everything from the connection to that system or point, back to the house or business is responsibility of the home or business owner." (accessed 2026-09-27)
- [Phoenix Water Services: General Service Issues (Code §28-5 right-of-way repair rule)](https://www.phoenix.gov/administration/departments/waterservices/city-services-bill/general-service-issues.html) — "The city, under City Code Section 28-5, will ONLY repair broken service lines within the public right of way." (accessed 2026-09-27)
- [Phoenix, AZ Sewer Lateral source candidate](https://phoenix.gov/waterservices)

_Last verified 2026-09-05. Source: Who Pays the Repair? — https://whopaystherepair.com/rules/phoenix-az-sewer-lateral/ — every claim checked against a primary source before publication (see /methodology/)._