Commercial Plumber in Emeryville, CA

A Property Manager’s Guide to Plumbing in Emeryville

Water from EBMUD, sewers from the City

Emeryville’s water comes from the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD). The sewer pipes under the city’s streets are owned by the City of Emeryville, and EBMUD treats the wastewater at its plant near the eastern end of the Bay Bridge. Save both contacts with your building’s emergency numbers:

• Water main breaks, hit hydrants and heavy water flow: EBMUD Emergency Dispatch, 1-866-403-2683, 24/7.
• Sewer mains and laterals: City of Emeryville, (510) 596-4300, Monday to Thursday during office hours (Fridays by appointment).

For a spill under way that could reach the storm drains, the City’s stormwater page says to call 911.

Sewer laterals: owner-owned, end to end

Emeryville’s Wastewater Collection System ordinance (Municipal Code chapter 7-8) makes the entire building sewer lateral the owner’s sole responsibility: the upper lateral on the property and the lower lateral from the property line or cleanout to the main, including the connection. Where a building connects to a side- or rear-yard main in an easement, the whole run is private. The City says private laterals make up about half of Emeryville’s sewer system.

The owner must keep the lateral free of roots, grease and other solids, with tight joints and no cracks, sags or breaks, and roof leaders, area drains, foundation drains and sump pumps may not connect to it. A two-way cleanout is required between the upper and lower lateral; the City normally asks for two cast-iron cleanouts, about 2 feet inside the curb line and about 2 feet from the building. If the City notifies an owner that a faulty lateral is an emergency, the code allows 48 hours to repair or replace it before the City can do the work and lien the property.

Lateral certificates: EBMUD’s program, City rules on top

Emeryville is one of the cities in EBMUD’s regional private sewer lateral program, in effect there since 2011, and the City’s code adopts EBMUD’s ordinance and adds its own triggers. An EBMUD Compliance Certificate is required:

• before a sale or title transfer (some family and trust transfers are excluded);
• for building permits valued over $100,000, or over $100,000 combined across permits within 3 years;
• when EBMUD changes the water meter size;
• after a City notice of violation on the lateral, and when the owner repairs or replaces it.

Every repair, replacement, abandonment or verification test needs a sewer lateral permit from the City, though clearing a stoppage does not. The City’s Public Works inspector attends all lateral work (usually five visits per project), and the verification test is witnessed by the City and EBMUD. Certificates last 7 years after repairs and 20 years after full replacement. Owners of a property, or contiguous properties under common ownership, with over 1,000 feet of laterals must also have a corrective action work plan approved by the City and EBMUD. Before any digging, the City asks that PG&E (1-800-743-5000) check whether a small gas line crosses the lateral. A camera inspection before listing or planning a remodel shows what the test is likely to find; see commercial sewer repair.

Restaurants and grease

Emeryville prohibits discharging fats, oils and grease (FOG) to the sewer and requires food service establishments to install and maintain grease control devices:

• When a device is required: new food service establishments or conversions, remodels or repairs valued at $75,000 or more (or over $75,000 combined within 3 years), and kitchens that have caused or contributed to grease blockages or overflows.
• Interceptors: pumped out completely at least once every 3 months, or more often if needed. Automatic grease removal devices, allowed case by case, follow the manufacturer’s schedule.
• Records: date, gallons pumped and disposal site for each service, kept at least 3 years and provided to the City on request.

EBMUD offers free best-practice guides and a sample grease trap maintenance log. Between pumpings, scheduled hydro jetting keeps kitchen lines to the interceptor open.

Offices and lab buildings: what can go to the sewer

The same chapter bars cooling water, process water and blowdown from cooling towers or evaporative coolers from the sanitary sewer unless the City issues a permit, which it grants only when there is no reasonable alternative. Any business that the City or EBMUD requires to hold a wastewater discharge permit may not discharge without one.

Backflow testing for EBMUD

EBMUD’s cross-connection specialists decide whether a site needs a backflow assembly, for example where the water system connects to a boiler, cooling tower, or booster or recirculating pump, or where there is a well or fire sprinkler system. When the annual test is due, EBMUD sends the list of authorized testers, and the completed test form must be mailed back within 30 days of the notice. New fire services need their underground piping flushed before activation, witnessed by EBMUD’s Backflow Section on at least 48 hours’ notice. Questions go to 510-287-0874. We install and repair the assemblies these rules require; see backflow preventers.

Permits and seismic gas valves

The Building Division of the Community Development Department enforces Emeryville’s Plumbing Code, the 2025 California Plumbing Code with local amendments, and plumbing permit fees follow the City’s Master Fee Schedule. There is no online permit portal: apply in person at 1333 Park Avenue (drop-in Monday to Thursday, 9 a.m. to noon; afternoons and Fridays by appointment) or by email with the PDF application, and pay in person or online by card. Questions go to (510) 596-4310.

One local amendment matters for remodels: an approved automatic gas shut-off valve is required in new buildings with gas piping, and in existing buildings when permitted work is valued over $50,000. Exceptions include buildings with five or more individually metered apartments (not condos), and commercial or mixed-use buildings served by a single gas line larger than 1½ inches; in condo buildings, the trigger is over $50,000 of work in one unit or outside the units.

Water heaters: soft water and electrification

EBMUD’s main supply is Mokelumne River water stored in Pardee Reservoir. Emeryville is in the area served by the Orinda treatment plant, which measured 14–40 ppm (1–2 grains per gallon) hardness in the 2025 water quality report; EBMUD notes that areas can be served from a different plant during high demand or maintenance. Scale is usually a smaller concern than in hard-water cities.

Emeryville businesses get electricity from Ava Community Energy, with Renewable 100 the default since October 2022. Ava’s commercial efficiency program, which offered heat pump water heater incentives, is closed to new enrollments; Ava points businesses to BayREN Business, PG&E programs and GoGreen Financing. See commercial water heaters.

Sources

City of Emeryville: Sewer Lateral Permit · Municipal Code ch. 7-8, Wastewater Collection System · Building sewer lateral rules (art. 2) · Sewer use and food service rules (art. 4) · Plumbing Code (ch. 8-6) · Building & fire permits · Building permit submittals · Stormwater services. EBMUD: Contact and emergencies · Sewer lines managed by cities · Private sewer laterals · Regional PSL Ordinance (City copy) · Backflow prevention · Fats, oils and grease · 2025 water quality report. Ava Community Energy: Emeryville · Commercial buildings. Checked October 2026.