Underground Storm Water Drain Pipe - Deal Breaker?

[Andrew Coba]

Hi BP Community,

My name is Andrew from San Diego, CA. I’m hoping you could give a guy some guidance.

I recently found a property on a hill with a storm water drain on the front street. I did some research and discovered the reinforced concrete pipe slopes under the side yard of the property to a main on the backstreet. The 24” pipe is about 10’-0” below ground and about 5’-0” away from the house. The side yard has a permanent retaining wall and a slab.

Do you have any experience with a city water pipe running through a property? In the event the city needs to provide maintenance will there be an issue since there is a permanent structure over it? Should the seller disclose information in regards to the pipe? Are there any written agreements the city does for utilities like these ? Will insurance companies take this into consideration? Is it an issue for resale? Any other risks to consider?

Thank you in advance!

[Colin L.]

If you can check the title report, you can see if there is an easement on the property for the pipe.  Utility easements are not uncommon and the ones I've personally encountered, the City would not allow any type of permanent structure on them.  That's not to say you never can build on them, it may depend on who the pipe and easement belong to, but that is my experience.  An owner may have built the retaining wall w/o permits and/or did not know of the pipe.  If there is an easement it could potentially be an issue if maintenance is necessary.