New Rochelle, White Plains, Scarsdale and others: how to check your town's rule
Updated October 30, 2026 · 3-minute read · Old House Sewer Lines
Sewer lateral responsibility in New Rochelle, White Plains, Scarsdale and seven other southern Westchester municipalities could not be confirmed from a primary source as of October 2026, so owners there should get the answer from the town itself. The other seven are Tuckahoe, Eastchester, Bronxville, Larchmont, the Town of Mamaroneck, Pelham Manor and the Village of Pelham. Their codes sit on eCode360 or on town websites that refused automated requests, and no archived copies were available.
That is a limit of what could be read, not a finding that these places lack a rule. The county's general line still applies as a starting point: Westchester's Department of Environmental Facilities treats the house lateral as private and the main as municipal (Westchester County DEF). Where a town draws the exact boundary, and whether it ever shares cost, is what needs checking.
Who to ask
Two offices usually hold the answer. The public works or engineering department runs the municipal sewer mains and can say where its pipe ends at a given address. The building department issues plumbing permits and knows which code sections govern private sewer work. Ask both if their answers differ. For villages, start with the village, not the surrounding town.
| Municipality | County sewer districts listed |
|---|---|
| New Rochelle | New Rochelle, Mamaroneck, Hutchinson Valley |
| White Plains | Bronx Valley, Mamaroneck Valley |
| Scarsdale | Bronx Valley, Hutchinson Valley, Scarsdale Mamaroneck Valley |
| Town of Eastchester (with Bronxville, Tuckahoe) | Bronx Valley, Hutchinson Valley, plus a town sewer district |
| Town of Mamaroneck (with Larchmont) | Mamaroneck Valley, New Rochelle |
| Town of Pelham (with Pelham, Pelham Manor) | Hutchinson Valley, New Rochelle |
The district tells you which county trunk line and treatment plant take your sewage (Westchester County 2026 tax rates). It does not settle who owns the lateral; that remains a local question. See Westchester's county sewer districts.
Questions worth putting in writing
- Where does the owner's responsibility end: at the property line, at the curb, or at the main?
- Does it include the tap or saddle on the main, and the pipe beneath the road?
- Who pays if a defect sits under the street or sidewalk?
- Which permits apply to repair or replacement, and which office issues each one?
- Is a lateral inspection or certificate required when the house is sold?
- Does the municipality run any repair, grant or reimbursement program?
A written reply protects you if a contractor later finds the break under the pavement. For permits specifically, see permits for sewer line work.
Point-of-sale laws still unverified
Only the City of Rye and the Village of Mamaroneck have sale-time lateral laws confirmed for this site. Secondary reports point to a Scarsdale inspection law and an older Town of Mamaroneck certificate requirement, but neither text could be checked, so sellers in both should call the building department. No primary text was found either way for Larchmont, the Pelhams, New Rochelle, White Plains, Eastchester, Tuckahoe or Bronxville. The confirmed laws are summarized in selling a house: when a lateral certificate is required.
A pending change for four systems
Senate bill S7927-A, from the 2025-2026 session, names four local systems (Pelham Manor's, Larchmont's, the Town of Mamaroneck's and New Rochelle's) that could be handed or leased to the county if they sit in its New Rochelle sanitary district (NY Senate). Whether it passed was not confirmed. Owners in those four places should watch for any change in which office handles sewer calls.
For comparison, the four places that do publish wording (Yonkers, Mount Vernon, the City of Rye and the Village of Mamaroneck) each leave the house line with its owner in some form; the ownership overview sets them side by side.
Key facts
- No primary lateral-ownership text was confirmed for ten municipalities, from New Rochelle and White Plains to Tuckahoe.
- The county describes the lateral as private and the main as municipal (Westchester County DEF).
- Confirmed sale-time lateral laws exist only for the City of Rye and the Village of Mamaroneck.
- Scarsdale and Town of Mamaroneck sale-time rules were reported but not verified.
- A pending Senate bill could move four local sewer systems into county hands (NY Senate).