Plumbing Los Gatos

Los Gatos plumbing, from abandoned septic tanks to online repipe permits

Three Town rules shape most plumbing jobs in Los Gatos. A building within 200 feet of a public sewer has to be connected to it, which is why the Building Division keeps a checklist for abandoning a septic tank. The Town code says it carries no liability for a sewer overflow where the owner never installed or kept up a backwater valve. And copper repipes, water lines and like-for-like water heaters can be permitted online.

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  • Rules on this page checked against 16 public sources, October 2026
The La Cañada Building in downtown Los Gatos
The La Cañada Building in downtown Los Gatos. Photo: Ramkumar Menon, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How plumbing work goes in Los Gatos

Town code sections a Los Gatos plumbing bid rests on

  1. Sections 22.20.020 and 22.20.040: the 200-foot rule

    Every building where people live, gather or work that abuts a street with an approved public sewer, or sits within 200 feet of one, must be connected by the owner in the most direct way possible, with a separate connection for each home, where a right-of-way and workable grade exist. Beyond that distance, Section 22.20.025 sets the private system: a two-compartment septic tank of at least 700 gallons and leach lines at least 125 feet long. No building permit issues for an unsewered building without the Health Officer's written approval of its sewage disposal plan.

    Town of Los Gatos Town Code, Chapter 22 (opens in a new tab)

  2. Section 22.20.055(b): backwater valves and liability

    This section of the Town Code says the Town takes on no liability for damage from a sewer overflow where the owner failed to install a backwater valve and keep it working. The Building Division's handout explains when one is required: on new dwellings, and on new or altered plumbing fixtures installed below the next upstream manhole cover of the public sewer. It suggests having a plumber or the sanitation district check whether one is needed whenever the plumbing system is being worked on.

    Source: Town of Los Gatos Building Division (losgatosca.gov)

  3. West Valley's code on septic replacements and easement laterals

    The district requires its own permit for a connection from an existing building meant to replace a septic system, and its permit form lists septic tank abandonment as a type of work. Where a lateral connects to a main running through a sewer easement rather than the street, the district's code makes the owner responsible for the whole lateral, cleanouts included, instead of only the stretch up to the property-line cleanout.

    Source: West Valley Sanitation District (wvsdca.gov)

State license for this work: C-36 Plumbing, C-42 Sanitation System. Look up a contractor's license on the CSLB website (cslb.ca.gov).

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Get quotes for plumbing work in Los Gatos

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To send a request, call or text (415) 449-8213.

Free to request, and you agree the scope and price with the person you hire before work starts. In California, a job over $1,000 in labor and materials, or one that needs a building permit, must be done by a contractor licensed by the CSLB in the right class. Ask for the license number and check it at cslb.ca.gov.

Free, no obligation. Next, add your details in the request form.

The work

Septic, sewer and supply work the Town's paperwork describes

  • Retiring a septic tank for a sewer connection

    The Building Division's checklist for this job asks for a plan showing where the old tank sits and how far it is from the property line, a note that the bottom third of the tank will be broken out and the tank filled with sand or gravel, and the route, size, material and slope of the new sewer line. It must also show West Valley Sanitation District's two-way cleanout and lateral connection point. The owner needs the district's certificate before the Town issues the plumbing permit, and the district may require a backflow device.

  • A copper repipe filed online

    Los Gatos puts copper repipes, water line repairs and replacements, and water heaters of the same type in the same location on its Online Permits System, along with a Permit Decision Tool for anyone unsure which permit applies. Owners and contractors can register, but a contractor needs a current Town business license to pull the permit. The Town's exempt-work list lets a leak be stopped without a permit; once a concealed pipe has failed and is replaced with new material, that counts as new work needing a permit and an inspection.

  • Water heaters, straps and tankless conversions

    A like-for-like heater can go through the online system. Moving one, or switching to tankless, needs a plumbing permit with a plan of the gas line and the maker's installation instructions. The Town's bracing sheet calls for restraints in the upper and lower thirds of the tank, three straps on a 75-gallon unit and four on a 100-gallon one, and accepts plumber's tape or EMT conduit only when installed to the Division of the State Architect's bracing guidelines. Heaters may not go in bedrooms, bathrooms or closets opening into them.

  • Old fixtures a permit can make you replace

    Under CALGreen 301.1.1, a house going through a permitted alteration has to swap non-compliant plumbing fixtures for water-conserving ones before the permit is finaled, and Los Gatos has the owner or contractor sign a certificate saying so. The Town's form lists the permitted repairs that do not trigger the swap, among them a water heater replacement and a sewer line replacement. A repipe is not on that list, so ask early whether the old toilets and showerheads will have to go too.

Copper pipe fittings: elbows, a tee, reducers and couplings
Copper pipe fittings: elbows, a tee, reducers and couplings. Photo: Torsten Bätge, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The houses here

Fifty-year-old supply pipe and service lines older than the war

The Town's Housing Element names 1960 to 1979 as the period that produced the largest share of homes still standing in Los Gatos, about 6,630 of them, so a great deal of the town's supply and drain piping is now half a century old or more. The downtown neighborhoods are older again. San Jose Water reports no lead service lines anywhere in its system, but in 2019 it found a small number of lead goosenecks, short curved connectors at the meter or house connection, at some properties whose service lines went in before 1946, and it is replacing them as its main work reaches those streets. The Town's own backwater valve handout adds a second warning about age: houses in older parts of Los Gatos may have been built, or replumbed, before a backwater valve was required.

Before you hire

Points to settle with whoever takes the Los Gatos job

  • Is the house within 200 feet of a public sewer, and if a septic tank remains, who prepares the Town's abandonment checklist?
  • Will you get West Valley Sanitation District's certificate before the plumbing permit, and is a backflow device likely to be required?
  • Is there a backwater valve on the building sewer now, and should one go in while the line is open?
  • Do you hold a current Town of Los Gatos business license so the permit can be filed online?
  • Is your C-36 Plumbing license current on cslb.ca.gov, and does the scope trigger the fixture-replacement certificate?

Timing

Getting a Los Gatos inspection on the calendar

Town inspections run from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays, and a request made by noon gets the next business day; anything later rolls a further day. Morning visits usually fall between 8 and noon and afternoon visits between noon and 3, though the windows are only estimates, and the inspector calls the afternoon before to confirm. West Valley Sanitation District works differently: it inspects cleanout and lateral work from photos the contractor emails, and nobody has to be on site when it does.

Free, no obligation. Next, add your details in the request form.

Questions

Los Gatos sewer and supply questions, with the Town's answers

Our Los Gatos house still runs to a septic tank. Do we have to hook up to the sewer?

If the building abuts a street with an approved public sewer, or sits within 200 feet of one, Town Code Section 22.20.020 requires a connection where a right-of-way can be had and the grade allows. The old tank is then abandoned under the Building Division's checklist, with its bottom third broken out and the tank filled, after West Valley Sanitation District issues its certificate.

Will the Town cover sewage damage if the public line backs up into our house?

Not where the owner failed to install a backwater valve or keep it working. Section 22.20.055(b) of the Town Code says so plainly. The Building Division adds that homes in older parts of Los Gatos may predate the requirement, so the cheapest moment to ask is while a plumber already has the drain line open.

How can I find out who replumbed my Los Gatos house before I bought it?

Look up the parcel's permit history. The Town's online system shows building permits from 1994 forward, and anyone can view them without registering. Permits older than that are kept on Laserfiche and microfiche, which can be viewed at the Building Division counter between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. on weekdays.

Why does our Los Gatos tap water taste different from a friend's in Campbell?

They may be drinking different water. San Jose Water's source map says parts of Los Gatos and Saratoga receive locally treated water from the Santa Cruz Mountains, while Campbell typically receives water bought from Valley Water. Its 2025 report puts average hardness at 151 ppm for the mountain water and 99 ppm for Valley Water's, and sources shift at times with supply and drought.

Do we need a permit just to fix a leaking pipe inside a wall?

Stopping the leak is exempt under the Town's list of work that needs no permit. The exemption ends when a concealed drain, waste, vent or water pipe has failed and has to be replaced with new material; the Town treats that as new work, which needs a permit and an inspection.

Where these facts come from

Checked against these public sources in October 2026. Rules and programs change: confirm permit requirements with the city before work starts, and a contractor's license on the CSLB website.

  • losgatosca.gov: Building (losgatosca.gov)
  • losgatosca.gov: Forms Information (losgatosca.gov)
  • losgatosca.gov: 7978 (losgatosca.gov)
  • losgatosca.gov: 330 (losgatosca.gov)
  • losgatosca.gov: 7974 (losgatosca.gov)
  • losgatosca.gov: 8723 (losgatosca.gov)
  • losgatosca.gov: 182 (losgatosca.gov)
  • losgatosca.gov: Inspection Request Information (losgatosca.gov)
  • losgatosca.gov: 3 Appendix B (losgatosca.gov)
  • library.municode.com: code of ordinances
  • wvsdca.gov: District Ordinance Code PDF (wvsdca.gov)
  • wvsdca.gov: Learn About Your Property Line Cleanout (wvsdca.gov)

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