We are selling a 2012 house in Morgan Hill. Do we still need the sewer lateral inspection?
Not in 2026. The ordinance covers properties more than 15 years old, and the city's page says properties built in 2011 or later are exempt this year. You still complete the Kickoff Form and an Exemption Form with evidence of the construction date. The cutoff year moves forward every year, so a later sale may fall under the rule.
Our 1985 house got new showerheads a few years ago. Does the fixture inspection still apply when we sell?
Yes. The rule is triggered by the building's age, not the fixtures', so any building finished on or before January 1, 1994 is inspected at sale. The plumber checks each fixture against the city's standards: showerheads rated at 1.8 gallons per minute or less, and toilets at 1.28 gallons per flush, with existing toilets of 1.6 gallons accepted. Anything that falls short is replaced.
Who pays to fix the sewer pipe under the street in front of a Morgan Hill house?
The owner. Morgan Hill treats the sewer line from the outside of the building to the main, including the connection to the city main, as the property owner's responsibility. Repairs in the street or sidewalk need an encroachment permit from Engineering, and the city's lateral grant program may help if the Letter of Approval arrives before work starts.
Is Morgan Hill tap water affected by the old road flare plant's perchlorate?
The perchlorate came from the Olin road-flare plant on Tennant Avenue, which operated from 1956 to 1995, and its plume once stretched about 10 miles, to east of Gilroy. When replacement water began in 2004, 188 domestic wells exceeded the drinking water limit; the Central Coast Water Board counted three at the end of 2023. The city's latest water report says its tap water met all federal and state standards.
We are on a private well near Morgan Hill. Can we get it tested for nitrate?
Valley Water says elevated nitrate and perchlorate turn up in some South County wells, and it collects free samples for domestic wells in its groundwater benefit zones W-2, W-5, W-7 and W-8, testing for nitrate, bacteria, hardness and more. Outside those zones it recommends testing every year at an accredited laboratory, and sooner if the water's taste, odor or color changes.
