Commercial Plumber in Milpitas, CA

A Property Manager’s Guide to Plumbing in Milpitas

Water and sewer are run by the City

The City of Milpitas Public Works Department operates and repairs the water, sewer, recycled water and storm drain systems. Milpitas sends an average of 6 to 7 million gallons of sewage a day to the San José–Santa Clara Regional Wastewater Facility, where it is treated and either discharged to San Francisco Bay or recycled; in 2025, Milpitas irrigation and industrial customers used more than 273 million gallons of that recycled water. For main breaks, sewer spills and overflows, call Public Works at 408-586-2600 (weekdays, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.) or Police Dispatch at 408-586-2400 after hours and on holidays; put both on your building’s emergency contact list.

Sewer laterals: split at the property line

Milpitas calls the pipe from the building to the main the side sewer and divides it in two. The House Sewer, from the building to the property line, is the owner’s responsibility; the City does not repair it. The House Lateral, from the property line to the main, is the public side: when a broken pipe or other structural failure causes a stoppage there, the City makes the repair at no charge.

Clearing stoppages is still the user’s job. If routine rodding fails, the City will try to clear the line through the property-line (street) cleanout, and where there is one it can camera-inspect the lateral and assess defects that block more than 20% of the flow. There’s a catch: if the City finds the stoppage was caused by grease, rags or other material from the property, or finds no stoppage at all, the user pays the City’s costs. Cleanouts belong to the owner, and the City will not install one; if none exists, the owner must add it.

Side sewer repairs need a permit. The City’s commercial sewer line permit covers piping and cleanouts from 2 feet outside the building to the property line, with an underground inspection (line filled with water, before backfill) and a final. A new City cleanout or a new connection to the main is work in the right-of-way and needs a Public Works encroachment permit, obtained in person at the Permit Center. See commercial sewer repair.

Restaurants: grease rules in the Municipal Code

Milpitas Municipal Code section VIII-2-5.30 sets the maintenance rules for grease control devices at food service establishments, which the City defines broadly, from restaurants and bakeries to hotels, caterers and nursing homes:

• Grease traps: clean every 30 days, or more often to stay under the 150 ppm grease limit.
• Grease interceptors: service every 90 days or when the chamber is 25% full, whichever comes first.
• No chemicals to clean out traps or interceptors.
• Records: keep the device’s size, location, cleaning schedule and instructions on site, plus a log of each cleaning or pumping (including hauler and volume), for at least 3 years.
• Inspections are unannounced, during business hours, with follow-ups for violations.
• New or remodeled kitchens: submit the Food Service Establishment Questionnaire and a Grease Removal Device Certification with the building application.

Pumping deals with the device; scheduled hydro jetting keeps the kitchen lines leading to it open.

Backflow testing

The City’s Cross-Connection Control Program tracks more than 2,300 backflow prevention assemblies on commercial, industrial, fire, irrigation and recycled-water services. The assemblies belong to the property owner or management company, which must keep test, repair and permit records and have each one tested every year. Only testers on the City’s authorized tester list may test, and they submit results through the City’s online test entry portal; written or scanned reports are not accepted. The 2025 water quality report gives May 1 as the annual compliance deadline and notes that, starting in 2026, City notices no longer list each device, so owners need their own inventory. Failed assemblies must be fixed within 30 days, or water service can be shut off. We install and repair the assemblies these rules require; see backflow preventers.

Permits for commercial plumbing work

The Office of Building Safety (408-586-3240) at City Hall, 455 E. Calaveras Blvd., issues plumbing permits. Its online permit system is limited to single-family and duplex homes. For commercial buildings, a new, relocated or replacement water heater requires a plumbing permit, and new or relocated units must be permitted in person at the Permit Center. Permits are issued only to the building owner or a licensed contractor acting as the owner’s authorized agent. The City’s commercial water heater handout also calls for seismic strapping, a pressure regulator where pressure exceeds 80 psi, and an expansion tank where a regulator, check valve or backflow preventer is installed.

Water heaters: two water supplies and SVCE rebates

Milpitas buys treated water from two wholesalers and keeps them separate. SFPUC water, mostly from Hetch Hetchy, serves the area east of I-680 south of Calaveras Blvd. and east of I-880 north of it; Valley Water serves the area west of I-880 and the area west of I-680 south of Calaveras. In the 2025 water quality report, Valley Water averaged about 100 ppm hardness (77–146) and SFPUC about 60 ppm (8–112), so properties in the same city can see different scale buildup. When it’s time to replace, Silicon Valley Clean Energy, which serves Milpitas, offers business rebates for heat pump water heaters replacing gas or electric resistance units (tankless models don’t qualify); the application must be approved before installation, and the claim needs the final permit signed by the City inspector. See commercial water heaters.

Sources

City of Milpitas: Water, sewer, storm drain and recycled water · Water and sewer information · Sewer · Sewer FAQs · Sewer rate information · Sewer line (commercial) handout · Grease inspections · Food Service Establishment Questionnaire · Grease Removal Device Certification · Cross-connection control and backflow prevention · Authorized testers · Building permits and resources · One-Stop Permit Center · Water heater (commercial) handout · Water quality report · 2025 water quality report. Silicon Valley Clean Energy: Business rebates · Business rebate equipment specifications · About SVCE. Checked October 2026.