Sacramento Plumbing Code Compliance for Commercial Buildings

Sources last checked: October 1, 2026

The agency that enforces a plumbing rule depends on your address, not on your plumber. Two buildings a mile apart can have different water suppliers and different sewer owners. So the first job on any compliance question is to find out who sends your water bill and who owns the sewer main in your street. The rules below are for buildings inside the City of Sacramento, with the differences for West Sacramento noted where they matter.

Backflow testing: the Cross-Connection Control Program

A cross-connection is any point where drinking water can touch water that is not safe to drink: a boiler, a fire sprinkler line, an irrigation system, a soda machine. A backflow prevention assembly is the valve that stops that water flowing backward into the public main.

What the City of Sacramento requires

• A yearly test by a certified tester. The City of Sacramento Department of Utilities runs the Cross-Connection Control Program. It states that state regulations require property owners to have their backflow prevention assemblies tested annually by a certified tester.
• Assemblies built and kept to the city's standards. Under Sacramento City Code section 13.04.240, the City Council adopts cross-connection control standards for the design, construction, installation and maintenance of backflow prevention assemblies, and every water customer has to follow them.
• Real consequences if you do not. The same section says a violation of those standards is an infraction, and that the customer's water service may be discontinued under section 13.04.245. The city's administrative penalties can be added on top.

Where the state comes in

Every public water system in California has to run a cross-connection control program. The rulebook is the State Water Resources Control Board's Cross-Connection Control Policy Handbook, which took effect on July 1, 2024. The Board adopted a revised version on April 21, 2026. Local programs are being brought in line with it, so a building that passed without a hazard assessment a few years ago may be asked for one now.

West Sacramento works differently

West Sacramento is a separate city with its own water system. Its Backflow Prevention Program says backflow devices are required by state and local law (Ordinance No. 90-13) on all commercial properties and fire systems, and that a permit and inspection are required for every new installation. The city itself tests all commercial backflow assemblies each year. If an assembly fails the city's test, the property owner has to repair it and have a city certified tester re-test it. There is more on our West Sacramento page.

What we do on a backflow job

We test, repair and replace backflow assemblies, and we send the test report to the water agency that asked for it. If your notice has a due date on it, tell us the date when you call. Our posts on backflow testing for Sacramento businesses and what to do after a failed test go into the detail.

Grease control: FOG rules for food businesses

FOG stands for fats, oils and grease. Poured down a drain it cools, hardens and sticks to the pipe wall, and sooner or later the line backs up. That is why every sewer agency has rules for kitchens.

First, who owns your sewer

The Sacramento Area Sewer District, known as SacSewer, is the regional sewer utility. It treats the region's sewage at the EchoWater Resource Recovery Facility near Elk Grove. But it does not own every pipe. For addresses in the City of Sacramento and in West Sacramento, SacSewer states that sewage collection is provided by the city and treatment is provided by SacSewer. In unincorporated Sacramento County and several other cities, SacSewer runs the collection pipes too. So a restaurant in Midtown answers to the City of Sacramento for its grease, and a restaurant in Arden-Arcade answers to SacSewer.

Inside the City of Sacramento: City Code Chapter 13.08

• Who counts as a food service establishment. Section 13.08.020 defines it as any public or private facility in the city that receives commercial sewer service and prepares or serves food. The code names restaurants, hospitals, schools, hotels and cafeterias.
• What they must do. Section 13.08.090 says all food service establishments shall comply with the best management practices set by resolution of the City Council. The code defines those as the activities, maintenance procedures and other practices that keep fats, oils and grease out of the public sewer.
• It is not only restaurants. Section 13.08.100 lets the Director of Utilities require any other business to install grease or sand interceptors where the waste needs it. The interceptor is installed and maintained at the owner's cost, its type and capacity have to be approved by the Director, and it has to sit where it can be reached for cleaning and inspection.

SacSewer's part: treatment and discharge permits

SacSewer's Wastewater Source Control Section runs the Pretreatment Program, which oversees industrial and commercial discharges to the sewer. Its discharge permits are aimed at large and industrial dischargers, not at a typical restaurant kitchen. SacSewer says a business may need one if it does any of the following:

• Discharges 25,000 gallons or more of process wastewater a day.
• Discharges more than 37.5 pounds a day of biochemical oxygen demand or of total suspended solids, or more than 8.3 pounds a day of total Kjeldahl nitrogen.
• Falls into a federal "categorical" industry under 40 CFR Parts 405 to 471.

SacSewer lists industrial bakeries, laundries, and food and beverage processors among the businesses that commonly need one. The Wastewater Source Control Section is on (916) 876-6000. SacSewer also runs the Stop the Clog program on keeping grease out of the drain.

What we do on a grease job

We install, repair and replace grease traps and interceptors, and we hydro-jet the kitchen lines that grease has narrowed. Pumping the interceptor out is a hauler's job, and we tell you when it is due. See how often a Sacramento restaurant should clean its grease trap.

Title 24: the California Building Standards Code

Title 24 is the state's building code. It is published in parts, and three of them shape commercial plumbing work:

• Part 5, the California Plumbing Code. This is the one an inspector checks your job against: pipe sizing, fixtures, venting, water heaters, backflow protection and grease interceptors.
• Part 11, the California Green Building Standards Code, called CALGreen. It sets the water efficiency rules for nonresidential buildings, including maximum flow rates for toilets, urinals, faucets and showerheads.
• Part 6, the California Energy Code. It covers the efficiency of water heating systems.

Which edition applies to your job

The California Building Standards Commission published the 2025 edition of Title 24 on July 1, 2025, with an effective date of January 1, 2026. The date that counts is the date of your permit application. A like-for-like repair usually does not pull the whole building up to the new code. A remodel, a change of use or a new tenant build-out is checked against the current edition for the work in the permit.

What we do on a permitted job

We pull the plumbing permit, build to the current code, and meet the inspector on site. Our guide to commercial plumbing permits in Sacramento explains which jobs need one.

Sources

We read each of these pages on October 1, 2026. Rules change, so check the source or call the agency before you spend money on the strength of this page. It is general information, not legal advice.

• City of Sacramento Department of Utilities: Cross-Connection Control Program
• Sacramento City Code: Section 13.04.240, Cross-connection control standards
• California State Water Resources Control Board: Cross-Connection Control Policy Handbook
• City of West Sacramento Public Works: Backflow Prevention Program
• Sacramento City Code: Chapter 13.08, Sewer Service System (sections 13.08.020, 13.08.090, 13.08.100)
• Sacramento Area Sewer District (SacSewer): Pretreatment Program
• Sacramento Area Sewer District (SacSewer): Stop the Clog
• California Building Standards Commission: Title 24 codes and effective dates