Easements

What is an easement?

An easement is a defined area of private or public property that provides the easement owner the legal right to use, access, and occupy the easement area.

Type of easement:

Utility Easements are areas of a property dedicated for utilities to deliver services such as electricity, gas, telephone, cable, water, and sanitary sewer, as is our case.

The land belongs to the homeowner; however, utilities can access easements to perform routine maintenance, construct improvement projects, and make repairs during emergencies.

Why does OC San have easements?

OC San holds easements because it is responsible for collecting, treating, and recycling wastewater generated by 2.6 million in central and northwest Orange County. This requires maintaining a network of over 380 miles of regional pipe that carry over 180 million gallons of wastewater every single day. As a public utility that provides an essential service, it is crucial to regularly monitor and access every aspect of our system for necessary upgrades or improvements.

Elements of OC San’s infrastructure was installed when Orange County still consisted of farmland. As cities developed and communities were formed, some neighborhoods were designed with our sewer pipes in their yard instead of in the public street. Easements are necessary to allow access to our sewer system for maintenance and construction purposes to ensure continued service to our ratepayers.

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Things to know about easements:

Easements are recorded documents that define permitted actions by the property owner, and the entity that holds the easement.

OC San has a legal right to access our easement for the purpose of maintaining, upgrading, or repairing the sewer system.

OC San easements may restrict the construction or installation of permanent structures within the designated area. Easements should remain free of any obstacles, debris, etc. that prohibit or limit access.

Easements are necessary to allow access to our sewer system for maintenance and construction purposes to ensure continued service to our rate payers.

Access to OC San easements:

If access to an easement is necessary, OC San personnel will notify the property prior to entry. In emergency situations, it may not be feasible to provide advance warning of the needed access, however, every attempt will be made to make contact with the property owner.

Inquiries:

Email easement@ocsan.gov