General Questions
What is the Sacramento Area Sewer District?
The Sacramento Area Sewer District (SacSewer) is a sewer utility
that owns and operates thousands of miles of lower lateral and
main line pipes (i.e., those sewer pipes under the streets) and
is responsible for the day-to-day operations and maintenance of
those pipes and related infrastructure (e.g., pump stations).
Once your wastewater is collected in our system, it flows into
the Sacramento Regional
County Sanitation District (Regional San) interceptor system
(made up of larger pipes), where it is conveyed to the EchoWater
Resource Recovery Facility near Elk Grove.
SacSewer was formed in 1978 and is governed by a
10-member Board of Directors
representing the various city and county jurisdictions in our
service area, including the unincorporated areas of Sacramento
County; the cities of Citrus Heights, Rancho Cordova, and Elk
Grove; and portions of the cities of Folsom and Sacramento.
What areas does SacSewer serve, and how many customers does the
service area include?
SacSewer provides sewer collection service to 1.2 million people
in the Sacramento region, including the unincorporated areas of
Sacramento County; the cities of Citrus Heights, Rancho Cordova,
and Elk Grove; and portions of the cities of Folsom and
Sacramento. We serve residential, commercial and industrial
customers. View a map of our
service area and check to see if you are our customer.
What should I do if sewage backs up into my home or I have
another sewer emergency?
Call us at (916) 875-6730! As an SacSewer
customer, you pay a monthly utility fee for sewer service. Let us
try to help you when you have a sewer problem. We will check our
portion of the sewer line for problems and help you figure out
the next step.
Who is responsible for fixing sewer problems?
Learn more about which part of the sewer system is a customer’s
responsibility and which part is SacSewer’s responsibility at our
Customer vs.
SacSewer Responsibility webpage.
What is the difference between SacSewer and Regional San?
SacSewer serves as one contributing agency to the Sacramento Regional County Sanitation
District, also known as Regional San. While SacSewer is
responsible for the collection of wastewater from the
unincorporated areas of Sacramento County; the cities of Citrus
Heights, Rancho Cordova, and Elk Grove; and portions of the
cities of Folsom and Sacramento, Regional San is responsible for
the conveyance and treatment of that wastewater. Regional San
also treats wastewater from the other local sewer utilities in
the Sacramento region. Regional San takes care of the ownership
and maintenance of the larger interceptor pipes and the
activities taking place at the Sacramento
Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant, located just outside of
Elk Grove, CA.
How can I get more information about the EchoWater Resource
Recovery Facility?
Please visit Regional
San’s website to get more information about the treatment and
disposal of your wastewater at the EchoWater
Resource Recovery Facility, located just outside of Elk
Grove, CA.
You can also sign up for an in-person
tour, or if you don’t have time, simply check out Regional
San’s Virtual Tour
online without leaving home!
Who sits on SacSewer’s Board of Directors, and when are the
meetings?
SacSewer’s Board of Directors is
representative of our service area, including the unincorporated
areas of Sacramento County; the Cities of Citrus Heights, Elk
Grove, Rancho Cordova; and parts of the Cities of Folsom and
Sacramento. For specific information on board representatives and
meeting times, visit our Board of
Directors webpage.
Can I really call SacSewer 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365
days a year if I have a sewer problem?
Yes! Call us at (916) 875-6730. We’re here
to help! As a SacSewer customer, you pay a monthly utility
fee for sewer service. Let us try to help you when you have a
sewer problem. We will check our portion of the sewer line for
problems and help you figure out the next step.
Billing Questions
Where do I find SacSewer’s charge on my utilities bill?
Your utilities bill features charges for multiple utilities,
including SacSewer. View a sample
bill to see where SacSewer’s charge appears.
What are monthly sewer rates?
Monthly sewer rates are what it costs an existing customer to
receive sewer service from SacSewer. In addition to our rate
charge, most customers will also receive a charge from the
Sacramento Regional County
Sanitation District (Regional San) for the regional
conveyance and treatment system. SacSewer is responsible for
service from your home or business – via its collection pipes –
to Regional San’s interceptor pipes that connect to the
Sacramento Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant. For specific
SacSewer rate information, visit our Monthly Sewer Rates webpage.
What are sewer impact fees?
Sewer impact fees are the charges that cover connecting a new
customer to the sewer system. For specific SacSewer impact fee
information, please visit our Impact
Fees webpage. For additional impact fee information, please
call (916) 876-6100.
Who should I contact with billing questions?
All billing is handled by Consolidated Utilities Billing and
Service, a third-party billing administrator that manages
billing for SacSewer and other local utilities. SacSewer’s
customers receive a consolidated bill that includes charges for
multiple utilities (e.g., sewer service, stormwater drainage,
water supply, garbage/recycling, etc.).
For all billing questions, please contact:
Phone: (916)
875-5555 (M-F 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.)
TDD: (916) 875-5105 (M-F
7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.)
Toll-free: (800) 932-8990
(M-F 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.)
Online Contact Form
E-mail (Residential): utilities@saccounty.net
E-mail (Commercial): cubscommportal@saccounty.net
Office: 9700 Goethe Rd., Suite C, Sacramento, CA
95827-3500
Can I sign up for paperless billing?
Yes, you can sign up for paperless billing via the Consolidated
Utilities Billing and Service website. You will need your
current bill with your account number and parcel number to
establish a paperless billing account.
How do I transfer my account or change account responsibility?
If you are a new property owner, CUBS will automatically transfer
the account into the new owner’s name when the change of
ownership is recorded. There can be a lag in processing
because CUBS receives the changes from the Assessor’s finalized
legal property records.
If you are a renter and want to assume responsibility for the
utility payments, you will need to have the owner’s authorization
to have utility bills sent in care of you. While utility
bills remain the responsibility of the property owner,
billing can be sent in care of another party if a property owner
specifically authorizes that change. To make this change,
the property owner needs to contact CUBS directly to determine
the steps necessary to complete this action.
Please contact CUBS
for more detailed information (see complete contact information
above).
Educational Outreach Questions
What is the Stop the Clog Program?
SacSewer’s Stop the Clog program is
designed to reduce sewer backups and overflows by educating
people about the proper disposal of fats, oils, and grease (FOG).
Through the program, SacSewer:
- Educates residential and commercial customers about grease
source control measures they can implement.
- Continues to utilize data to improve maintenance and
operation efforts.
- Evaluates the data collected and modifies the program, as
needed.
- Prioritizes areas more likely to have an overflow for both
outreach and education, and maintenance and operation efforts.
Whether you’re a a resident of the Sacramento region or a
food service business that generates FOG, we encourage you to do
your part to help prevent sewer blockages. Doing so will benefit
your home, your business, your pocketbook, and your community.
Learn more at stoptheclog.com.
Why can’t disposable wipes be flushed down the toilet?
Disposable disinfectant wipes, baby wipes, and even
so‑called “flushable” wipes cause serious problems for the sewer
system, as they do not break down easily (or at all) once they
are flushed. Paper products other than toilet paper (e.g., paper
towels) also do not break down once in the sewer line. No matter
what the label says, don’t flush them, trash them instead.
Visit the No Wipes in the Pipes
page to learn more about how you can help wipe out this costly
and messy sewer problem.
What other sewer maintenance tips can I follow to keep my sewer
flowing?
Visit our Sewer Maintenance
Tips page to learn more.
What is SacSewer doing to protect local creeks, and how can I
help?
Visit Help Protect Our
Creeks to learn about SacSewer’s partnership with the
Sacramento Area Creeks
Council to protect our local creeks and waterways. You can
help by volunteering during Creek Week or other related
activities—visit saccreeks.org to learn more.
Permit Questions
Please visit our Permits Information
webpage.
Easement Access & Customer Responsibility Questions
What are my responsibilities regarding utility easements on my
property?
You, as a property owner, must guarantee access to any utility
easements located on your property. If you are unsure about the
location of easements or sewer utilities at your property, please
call us at (916) 876-6100. It is vitally
important that an easement holder provide SacSewer timely and
unobstructed access to its sewer utility assets whenever
necessary so that we can keep the sewer system flowing properly.
Please refer to SacSewer’s
Easement Access Brochure for detailed information about how
we access easements on private property.
How will sewer line repairs impact my home or neighborhood?
Our goal is to get our work done as quickly as possible with
minimum impact to our customers. To lessen the impact of repairs
and to assist you in planning for possible inconveniences, we
provide advance notice of our work whenever possible. If the
sewer lines are located in the backyard, we may need to
coordinate with you to gain access as quickly as possible. Our
Easement Access Brochure summarizes what you can expect when
we need to access easements to perform our work.
At times, work on private property requires that we do all
excavating by hand, a slower process than work done with
equipment. Therefore, repairs could take days instead of hours.
It may be necessary to turn the water supply off for a short time
at some point during our work and we may ask you not to drain any
wastewater into the system during repairs. Street repairs can
involve temporary inconveniences including short-term road
closures or interruptions in service.
Identifying SacSewer Workers
How can I identify a sewer worker?
All of our workers carry photo identification—feel free
to ask for it. Field operations and maintenance staff wear our
standard blue uniforms with name patches and SacSewer’s logo.
Field technicians (those who are first to respond to
customer calls), as well as supervisors and other staff,
typically wear clothing and/or hats with SacSewer’s logo.
SacSewer workers also wear yellow safety vests and helmets with
our logo.
Occasionally, SacSewer will use contractors in the
field. Any contractors working for SacSewer must display signs on
their vehicles identifying them as authorized contractors.
During daytime working hours, you can also confirm any SacSewer
worker’s identity by calling 875-6730.
Discharging to the Sewer System
Can I discharge RV waste into the sewer system?
Residential customers can use their private sewer cleanouts for
occasional, non-permanent discharge. Otherwise, a dump station
should be utilized.
As a residential customer, can I discharge pool water into the
sewer system?
SacSewer’s Sewer Ordinance does allow periodic discharge of pool
water to the sewer system. When the discharge is performed
through a non-permanent connection and the other
specific conditions are met, periodic discharges can be done
without obtaining advance permission or a discharge permit.
Please see
Pool Water Disposal Guidelines and SacSewer’s
Sewer Ordinance Sections 2.21, 2.22, and 2.4 for the
specific requirements governing this type of non-permanent pool
water discharge.
Can I discharge pool water into the storm drain system?
SacSewer is not responsible for the regulation of the storm drain
system; however, discharges to the storm drain system are highly
regulated and the discharge of pool-related wastewater to the
storm drain system is prohibited under specific conditions (view
Pool Water Disposal Guidelines). Local regulatory agencies
enforce stormwater regulations and may assess fines and
penalties related to prohibited discharges or other stormwater
violations. In the unincorporated areas of the County of
Sacramento, the Department of
Water Resources is the local enforcement agency for the
stormwater regulations. All local stormwater jurisdictions
participate in the Sacramento Stormwater Quality
Partnership, which offers many educational resources to
businesses and citizens to prevent stormwater pollution.
Pool Water Disposal Guidelines
Employment Questions
How can I seek employment with SacSewer?
SacSewer hires all staff through Sacramento County. For a list of
currently available positions and associated salaries, please
visit Sacramento
County’s Personnel Services website.
