Commercial plumbing in Covina

Downtown Covina's restaurants sit on some of the oldest blocks in the city, near Heritage Plaza at 400 N Citrus Ave and the Metrolink station at 600 N Citrus Ave. Kitchens there have often been rebuilt by several tenants over the years. That can mean branch lines of different ages and sizes, older grease devices and floor sinks added wherever the last layout needed them.

What Covina's sewer code says about grease

Covina adopts the Los Angeles County sanitary sewer and industrial waste code by reference in Chapter 13.50 of its Municipal Code, with its own amendments, and Covina officials administer it: the city engineer, the public works director and the City's health officer stand in for their County counterparts. For food businesses, the key sections are these:

Ask City of Covina Public Works at 125 E College St (626-384-5220) what applies to your space before you sign a lease or start a remodel. A space with an old grease trap, or none, may need a new FOG system as part of the work.

Keeping kitchen lines open between services

• Scrape plates and pans into the trash before they reach the sink.
• Collect fryer oil for recycling, never down a drain.
• Keep strainers in floor sinks and prep sinks, and empty them every shift.
• Keep your interceptor on a regular pumping schedule and keep the records on site.
• Have kitchen lines cleaned before they fully clog. Hydro jetting scours grease off the pipe wall; snaking alone often leaves it.

Emanate Health Inter-Community Hospital is at 210 W San Bernardino Rd. Our work is in the private medical and dental practices, clinics and offices near it and elsewhere in Covina, not in the hospital's own systems.

A medical or dental suite puts a sink in nearly every room. When one fails at 7 a.m., the practice needs it working before the first patient. We book planned work before opening, after closing or on days the office is closed, and we keep work areas clean and contained.

• Hand sink faucets, sensor faucets and drains in exam rooms and operatories.
• Sterilization room sinks and their supply valves.
• Restroom flush valves, toilets and accessible fixtures.
• Water heaters sized for many sinks running at once.
• Shutoff valves labeled per suite so one repair does not close the floor.

Hard water and medical equipment

City of Covina water averaged 230 mg/L of hardness in its 2025 report, about 13.5 grains per gallon. Scale builds fast in sensor faucet valves, water heaters and any equipment fed directly from the line. Dental and lab equipment often has its own water quality requirements from the maker; we can install a softener or filter ahead of it, sized from your supplier's numbers. Our water softener page explains sizing, and our toilet and faucet repair page covers flush valves and faucets.

The City Water Division's Backflow Prevention Device Field Testing and Maintenance Report records the initial test, any repairs and the final test for each check valve, relief valve and air inlet. Each test needs the tester's signature and tester number. For ownership, address or device changes, the form says to call the Water Department at 626-384-5234. The Water Division is at 534 N Barranca Ave.

1. Know your due date

   The City's form has a due date field. If you are not sure when your assembly is due, or the owner or manager has changed, call the Water Department at 626-384-5234.

2. Book a backflow tester

   The tester records the initial test on the City's form and signs it with a tester number.

3. Repair if it fails

   A failed check or relief valve is cleaned or rebuilt, or the assembly is replaced. We handle the plumbing repair.

4. Retest and file

   The final test goes on the same form, signed. Return it as the Water Division directs.

If your business gets water from Suburban Water Systems, Golden State Water, Valencia Heights, Azusa Light & Water or Glendora Water instead, check with that supplier about its backflow requirements. The name on your water bill tells you which one. Our who to call for water, sewer and gas guide lists all six.

Section 13.50.040 of the Municipal Code says house laterals and industrial connection sewers are maintained by the owner of the property served, in a safe and sanitary condition. City of Covina Public Works says the same for homes, tree roots included. Local sewer mains in the street are the City's, and the large trunk sewers belong to the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts, which announced a relining project on about 20,736 feet of trunk sewer in 2024.

For a business, a failing lateral means backups in restrooms and floor drains, sometimes several tenants at once. A camera inspection shows whether the problem is grease, roots, a sag or a broken joint before anyone digs. Our sewer lateral camera and repair page and our Covina sewer lateral guide cover the options.

If a discharge gets away from you, the code is direct. Under section 13.50.048, after an uncontrolled or slug discharge the discharger must immediately notify the director by telephone and file a written report within five calendar days.

A kitchen cannot close at lunch for a planned drain job, and a dental office cannot lose water during patient hours. We set the timing with you: before opening, between services or on a closed day. For downtown storefronts, we also ask who controls the main shutoff and who must approve work, so the job does not stall halfway.

Inspections need the City's schedule too. Building & Safety's counter is open Monday to Thursday, so permitted work that needs an inspection is planned around that.

These are national residential estimates, and commercial jobs often differ in length, access and code requirements. Covina permits and Handout #12 upgrades can push a job toward the top of a range. Call (626) 746-1970 for an exact quote, and see our plumbing costs guide for more.