Tips for Finding Your Clean-Out*

• If your kitchen or bathroom is on an exterior wall of your house, look outside along that wall for a clean-out.
• Stand on the sidewalk looking toward your house. Line up the main water sources in your house: bathrooms, kitchen, washers, etc. The clean-out is often located on that line, in front of or behind your house.
• Look for an "S" carved on the curb near your house. It marks where the sewer line is. Your clean-out may be along it.
• Look on your property for a small concrete or metal cover marked "sewer." Clean-outs are often located under them.
• Look for a small circular cap on a pipe, with a raised square on it, sticking out of your house or out of the ground. These caps often cover clean-outs.
• Look for a slight linear depression in your yard between your house and the street. They often are remnants of sewer line installation, and your clean-out may be on it.
• If you still can't find your clean-out, contact your local wastewater treatment authority.

*Not all cities use the same methods to mark their sewer systems, so some of these tips may not work for you.

Additional Information

For more information on how to protect our creeks and the Bay, call 1-866-WATERSHED or visit the Watershed Watch website.

For more information about draining water or locating clean-outs:

• In East Palo Alto, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Mountain View, Palo Alto, and Stanford, call the Regional Water Quality Control Plant at (650) 329-2598.
• In Campbell, Cupertino, Los Gatos, Milpitas, Monte Sereno, San José, Saratoga, and Santa Clara, call Environmental Services at (408) 945-3000.
• In Sunnyvale, call the Sunnyvale Water Pollution Control Plant at (408) 730-7260.