Sewer Improvement Plan

The content of this page will provide guidance through the Sewer Improvement approval process for subdivisions, Conditional Use Permits (CUP), and single lots or any other project where Public Sewer System is proposed for ultimate public maintenance.



 


SEWER IMPROVEMENT PLAN APPROVAL PROCESS

Most Sewer Systems have planning and zoning implications and, accordingly at the beginning stage, you must obtain approval from the Department of Regional Planning for your proposed land use before you can commence the construction of sewers. To learn more about the planning stage process with the County of Los Angeles Department of Regional Planning, click here.



SEWER IMPROVEMENT PLAN PREPARATION


TYPICAL SEWER IMPROVEMENT PLAN
Below are some tips and tools to help in preparing the sewer plan.

  • Please note, sewer improvement plans can only be prepared by California Registered Civil Engineers
  • The first sheet of the sewer improvement plans must include the following:
    • Border sheet
    • Benchmark
    • Sheet Size: Typical size is 24” x 36”. Please note that this is ultimately for hard copies only but gives guidance in indexing the sheets for digital use as well.
    • Index Map
      • Show the nearest major cross streets.
      • Show the proposed mainline with flow directions and call out pipe sizes greater than 8”.
      • Show all existing sewer within the index map, dash-dot-dash with PC/CI number.
      • Match the alignments with the approved Sewer Area Study, tentative map, and sewer plan.
    • Statements / Notes: add only the applicable statements or notes to the plan.
    • Sample Sewer Improvement Plan with Direction



REFERENCE MATERIALS




CONTACT US

If you have additional questions or concerns, please contact our Drainage & Sewer Section at (626) 458-4930, or email us at LDD-Sewer@pw.lacounty.gov. To discuss your project with us, you can make an appointment for an online meeting between the hours of 7:00 am and 5:00 pm, M-Th by using the following link: https://pw.lacounty.gov/landing/onlineappointments.cfm

SEWER IMPROVEMENT PLAN SUBMITTAL


In order to properly process your submittal and to facilitate your plan review, please submit all of the applicable items below. It is our policy to review only completed submittals. Submittals that are not complete or do not contain the necessary references, documents, or supporting calculations may be delayed or rejected. All documents should be submitted electronically, using PDF form, to EPIC-LA. If you have already formally submitted a plan check package in the past and you wish to upload revised documents, you must resubmit to EpicLA under the existing plan case. For questions regarding this checklist, please contact the appropriate plan checking unit at (626) 458-4930.


APPLICATION

To submit your Sewer Improvement Plan for review, upload your plans and supporting information online (link below).

Submit my plans


FEES

You can pay the plan check review fees in person or online using e-check / credit card (for charges less than $50,000.00). After you have submitted your plans for review, your plan checker will create a fee invoice where you can pay the fee online.

For your convenience, our fee schedule and cost and bond estimating spreadsheets are available below. Please note that the plan check fee covers up to 3 reviews of the sewer improvement plan submittal. Additional fees will be required after the 3rd submittal.


PAPERLESS SUBMITTALS
We’ve been processing paperless plan review since 2013. Accordingly, you can submit all of your improvement plans and supporting documents online through the link provided above. To see a typical list of all supporting documents that are required for obtaining Sewer Improvement Plan approval, here is a Submittal Check List.

SUBMITTAL PROCEDURE
Step by step on completing the application
Resubmittals will be required to address any corrections needed on the Sewer Area Improvement Plan. Make sure to submit annotated response to plan checker comments on the report and correction list or your resubmittal may be rejected.




CONTACT US

If you have additional questions or concerns, please contact our Drainage & Sewer Section at (626) 458-4930, or email us at LDD-Sewer@pw.lacounty.gov. To discuss your project with us, you can make an appointment for an online meeting between the hours of 7:00 am and 5:00 pm, M-Th by using the following link: https://pw.lacounty.gov/landing/onlineappointments.cfm

SEWER IMPROVEMENT PLAN REVIEW & APPROVAL


REVIEW PROCESS
For each plan submittal, a check print showing plan check comments and a corrections list will be generated and sent to the applicant who submitted the plans. These documents will address deficiencies in the plan and inform you of supporting documents that are needed in order to obtain sewer plan approval. We will review each submittal by following the County of Los Angeles Design Manuals, which include Title 20 Division 2, Standard Plans for Public Works Construction, and Private Contract Sanitary Sewer Manual.

The following are links to resubmit your plans and to some documents that you should find useful during the sewer improvement plan review:

Resubmit my plans

Sewer Plan Check Correction List and Clearance Form


SUBMIT MYLAR FOR APPROVAL
If the Sewer Improvement Plan Checker has no comments on the digital submittals, applicants will need to print out mylars and submit to Land Development for approval and signatures. The applicant will then be given the mylar to take to outlet agency for the final signature.

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER SEWER IMPROVEMENT PLAN APPROVAL?
As soon as your Sewer Plan is approved, the Sewer Plan checker will create an approval package for your project. The approval package will contain versions of your plans with County Stamp and signature as well as all supporting documents for the Sewer Improvement Plan. A link will be created for permit application under sub-records in EPICLA account. You will be notified by e-mail along with instructions about which documents from the approval package you need to apply for and obtain the excavation permit. Once Permit Section of LDD issued your sewer construction permit, you must continue processing all other improvement plans until you obtain all plan approvals and the necessary permits to finish constructing your project.

The sewer improvement is valid for 2 years from the date of approval unless the subdivision map expires. If your sewer improvement plan expires before you pull the connection and/or inspection permit, you'll need to submit a new sewer improvement plan with supporting documents for review and approval. If your sewer improvement plan was approved in 2014 or after, we will have all of the supporting documents stored digitally. However, some approvals by other agencies may be expired and would need to be renewed.

As construction progresses, site conditions may warrant design changes to the approved sewer improvement plans. It is the responsibility of the permittee to inform the Sewer Section sewer plan check engineer of these changes and provide revised sewer improvement plans for approval prior to proceeding with the changes. If you need to submit revised sewer improvement plans for review and approval, click below.

Resubmit revised plans

Finally, with an approved sewer improvement plan, you're closer to recording your final map. Most, if not all, sewer clearance items for the final map are usually handled during the sewer improvement plan review process. Sewer final map clearance will be issued after completing all final map requirements for sewer, either with or after the sewer improvement plan approval.




CONTACT US

If you have additional questions or concerns, please contact our Drainage & Sewer Section at (626) 458-4930, or email us at LDD-Sewer@pw.lacounty.gov. To discuss your project with us, you can make an appointment for an online meeting between the hours of 7:00 am and 5:00 pm, M-Th by using the following link: https://pw.lacounty.gov/landing/onlineappointments.cfm