Plumbing Novato

Novato plumbing between North Marin Water and the Novato Sanitary District

Selling an older house in Novato reaches its toilets and showerheads. North Marin Water District's Regulation 15 requires any structure built before January 1, 1992 in its Novato service area to carry a certificate of water-conserving fixtures when ownership changes, signed by the owner. Below ground, the Novato Sanitary District permits every sewer job outside the foundation and leaves the whole lateral, including its connection to the main, to the owner.

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  • Rules on this page checked against 13 public sources, October 2026
Amphitheater Park on the former Hamilton Field in Novato
Amphitheater Park on the former Hamilton Field in Novato. Photo: Terrygraham415, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Water supplier
North Marin Water District, about 70% Russian River
Resale fixture rule
Regulation 15: owner certificate for pre-1992 homes at sale
Sewer agency
Novato Sanitary District, formed in 1925
Permit help
Novato Permit Connections, with NMWD and NSD staff

Permits and local rules

Water district, sewer district, city: three Novato sign-offs

  1. Regulation 15, retrofit on resale

    North Marin Water District's Water Conservation Regulation 15 applies to any existing structure built before January 1, 1992 that sits in the district's Novato service area and takes its water, and requires an owner's certification that its plumbing fixtures are water-conserving. The owner signs the district's Water Conservation Certificate, also called the Retrofit on Resale Certificate, and can scan and email it to the district.

    North Marin Water District (opens in a new tab)

  2. The sanitary district's sewer permit

    Novato Sanitary District permits are required for all sewer work outside the building foundation, before any work begins. The district defines the side sewer as everything from the main to a point within two feet of the foundation; the lateral sewer is the part in the public right-of-way or a district easement, and the house sewer runs from there to the building. Homeowners may work only on the house sewer, and the district maintains only the main.

    Novato Sanitary District (opens in a new tab)

  3. The blowoff cleanout and other side sewer details

    The district's overview of side sewer requirements calls for a backwater prevention device, or blowoff cleanout, on every side sewer, with its overflow rim at least three inches above finished grade and at least six inches below the lowest plumbing fixture. Cleanouts go at the junction with the building plumbing, at bends sharper than 45 degrees and on runs over 90 feet. In a driveway the device sits off to the side on a wye, or a check valve is added.

    Novato Sanitary District (opens in a new tab)

  4. City permits through Novato Permits

    The City of Novato's Building Division moved to a new online permit system on October 1, 2025, and an account is needed before applying. Its Novato Permit Connections sessions put city permitting, planning, building and public works staff in one room with representatives from Novato Fire, North Marin Water and the Novato Sanitary District, with no appointment needed. The city's fee schedule lists water heater installations among its most frequently issued permits.

    City of Novato Building Division (opens in a new tab)

State license for this work: C-36 Plumbing, C-42 Sanitation System. Look up a contractor's license on the CSLB website (opens in a new tab).

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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.

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

Septic beginnings and a water district built for a boom

Novato's sanitary district is older than its city. Voters formed Sanitary District No. 6 of Marin County in October 1925, and it relied on septic tanks and leach fields until it built its first sewer collection system and treatment plant in 1949, adding a second plant in Ignacio a few years later. North Marin Water District was formed in 1948, finished Stafford Dam in 1951 and began bringing Russian River water through the North Marin Aqueduct in 1961; over that decade its customers grew from 4,709 to 9,779. Every house from those decades through 1991 falls under the district's resale fixture rule, and its lateral, however old, belongs to the owner.

The work

Novato plumbing work, from escrow to the street main

  1. Fixture swaps for the resale certificate

    Regulation 15 sets the limits a pre-1992 Novato house must meet when it changes hands: toilets rated at 1.6 gallons per flush or less, urinals at 1 gallon, showerheads at 2.0 gallons per minute and bathroom faucets at 1.5. Aerators can bring a faucet into line, but a removable flow restrictor in a showerhead does not count; the whole head is replaced. The owner signs the Water Conservation Certificate, which does not replace any permit another agency requires.

  2. A full lateral replacement with grant help

    The Novato Sanitary District's Lateral Grant pays toward replacing an entire lateral, the upper section to the property line and the lower section to the main, and excludes spot repairs and partial replacements. The order matters: apply first, with written bids from three licensed contractors, and wait for the district's letter of obligation. Any work done before that letter voids the application. Money is set aside each fiscal year and given out first come, first served.

  3. Owner-dug house sewer, contractor in the street

    A district permit is required for all sewer work outside the foundation, and with one a homeowner may install, alter or repair the house sewer on their own lot. The lateral in the street or a district easement has to be done by a licensed contractor or plumber, after an encroachment permit from the City of Novato or the County of Marin. Inspections are requested 24 hours ahead by phone or 48 by email, and no pipe is covered until it passes.

  4. Backflow assemblies after a district survey

    North Marin Water may require a backflow prevention assembly at the meter once it has surveyed a property, commonly where there is a well, a pump for low pressure, a storage tank or dock-side water facilities. Under the state handbook in effect since July 1, 2024, a swimming pool, a fire sprinkler system, recycled water or graywater, or more than one connection to a water main can also trigger one. Test reports now go into the district's online portal, which every tester must use.

Before you hire

Points to settle with a Novato plumber

  • Ask the plumber to check every toilet, showerhead and faucet against Regulation 15 before you sign the resale certificate.
  • For a lateral, ask who pulls the Novato Sanitary District permit and books its inspection at least a day ahead.
  • If you want the lateral grant, ask for a written bid for a full upper and lower replacement, not a spot repair.
  • Ask where the blowoff cleanout will sit against the yard grade and the lowest drain in the house.
  • Look up the C-36 Plumbing license at cslb.ca.gov and confirm the business on the license signs the contract.

Timing

Grant money runs on the fiscal year

The Novato Sanitary District sets aside its lateral grant money one fiscal year at a time and hands it out first come, first served until it is gone, and it voids any application where work started before its letter of obligation. If a lateral replacement is likely before a sale, collect the three bids and apply early in the year, then schedule the digging once the letter arrives.

Questions

What Novato homeowners ask about pipes

Do I have to change toilets before selling my Novato house?

If it was built before January 1, 1992 and gets water from North Marin Water District in its Novato service area, the fixtures must meet Regulation 15: toilets at 1.6 gallons per flush or less, showerheads at 2.0 gallons per minute and bathroom faucets at 1.5. Older fixtures are replaced, and the owner signs the district's Water Conservation Certificate.

Can I replace my own sewer line in Novato?

Partly. With a Novato Sanitary District permit, a homeowner may install, alter or repair the house sewer on their own property. The lateral in the street or a district easement must be done by a licensed contractor or plumber, and digging in the street also needs an encroachment permit from the City of Novato or the County of Marin.

Who owns the sewer pipe between my Novato house and the main?

You do. The Novato Sanitary District treats the lateral, from the junction with your plumbing near the foundation to and including the connection to the main in the street, as the owner's property, so installation, repair, replacement and removal are the owner's cost. The district maintains the main sewer.

Is my Novato water from Marin Water or North Marin Water?

North Marin Water District. Marin Water's own plan says its service area runs north up to, but not including, the City of Novato. North Marin reports that the Russian River supplies about 70 percent of Novato's water, delivered through the North Marin Aqueduct, and Stafford Lake, west of downtown, about 20 percent.

Will North Marin Water make me install a backflow device?

Only if its survey finds a reason. Common ones are a well, a booster pump for low pressure, a storage tank or dock-side water facilities, and since July 1, 2024 state rules add swimming pools, fire sprinkler systems, recycled or graywater systems and more than one connection to a water main. Commercial and industrial properties always need one at the meter.

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.

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