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!