Sanitation

LEMON GROVE SANITATION DISTRICT

The Lemon Grove Sanitation District provides wastewater collection system management services for the City and its residents. These services include maintenance of approximately 67 miles of collection pipes within the City, transport of wastewater to the San Diego Metropolitan Wastewater Department for treatment and disposal, management of sewer finances, and other related duties to ensure the system continues to operate efficiently. The District is separately financed and operated as an Enterprise Fund by the City and is a participating agency of the Metro Wastewater Joint Powers Authority.

The District bills sewer service charges annually on customers’ property tax bills or by direct mail for tax-exempt parcels. Rates are set at adequate levels to support operating and maintenance expenses, debt service requirements, capital improvement needs, and other costs of supporting the enterprise. Capital improvements include upgrades, rehabilitation, and replacement of the sewer collection system and San Diego Metropolitan Regional Wastewater Treatment infrastructure. 

Costs of providing service are distributed among customer classes based on their use of the system. Sewer service charges are billed as standard fixed amounts for residential customers and as a cost per hundred cubic feet of water consumed for non-residential customers, based on the strength of the discharged wastewater. Keeping customer rates low while meeting the District’s cost-of-service requirements is essential to maintaining quality services to the wastewater system’s customers.

Click here to view the current Rate Case Study

Click here to view Ordinance No. 33

Who can I contact if I have questions about my bill?

You can view your bill here by entering your Assessor Parcel Number, mailing address, or unsecured bill number. For questions regarding your bill, please call 866-427-4304.

Application for Review of Annual Sewer Service Charge

SEWER SPILL OR OVERFLOW

Any sewer spill or manhole overflow should be reported immediately to:

• The Lemon Grove Sanitation District (Mon-Thu): 619-825-3810
• After 5:30 pm (Mon-Thu), and on weekends (Fri-Sun), call Heartland Fire & Rescue Dispatch: 619-441-1621

SEWER MAINTENANCE & REPAIR

The Lemon Grove Sanitation District is responsible for maintenance and repair of the sewer main line. This includes routine and emergency cleaning.

If a licensed plumber, acting as the property owner’s agent, determines that a disruption of sewer service is caused by a blockage in the District’s sewer main line, as verified by video, the District or its agent will respond to confirm the finding and clear the blockage in the sewer main line.

LATERAL POLICY

Property owners are responsible for maintenance and repair of the sewer pipe, called a lateral, which runs from the property owner’s structure to the sewer main, which is typically located in the street. The lateral is part of the building’s plumbing. Property owners’ responsibilities include maintenance and repair of the lateral, overflow cleanup, and damages. The District is responsible for the sewer once the sewage leaves the lateral and enters the main line.

Should repairs to or replacement of the lateral require digging in the public right of way, the property owner or agent must obtain an Encroachment Permit from the City of Lemon Grove.