La Plata County, CO Building Safety: Plumbing Permits (2026)

Section 18-40 adopts the volumes, parts, chapters, and appendices of the 2024 International Plumbing Code, with amendments, additions, and deletions, pursuant to C.R.S. § 30-28-201(1). Chapter 1 Scope and Administration of the IPC is amended by incorporating Section 18-35, and if the two conflict, Section 18-35 prevails, except for Section 101.3. The added Section 101.3 paragraph states the purpose is to meet or exceed the requirements of the State of Colorado Plumbing Code, and where technical requirements in the Colorado Plumbing Code conflict, the more restrictive one applies. Section 18-35(101.4.3) adds that the State of Colorado Plumbing Board can adopt newer plumbing codes that counties must enforce and that supersede the edition La Plata County adopted.

Permits come from Section 18-35. Section 105.1 requires the owner or authorized agent to apply to the building official and obtain permits before erecting, installing, enlarging, altering, repairing, removing, converting, or replacing any gas, mechanical, or plumbing system regulated by the Code. The plumbing exemptions in Section 105.2 cover only stopping leaks in drains or in water, soil, waste, or vent pipes, and clearing stoppages or repairing leaks in pipes, valves, or fixtures, provided no valves, pipes, or fixtures are replaced or rearranged. Replacing a defective concealed trap, drainpipe, or pipe with new material counts as new work that needs a permit and inspection.

Local amendments carry numbers. Section 305.4 requires exterior water supply piping at no less than 48 inches below grade, or no less than 6 inches below the frost line if it is deeper than 42 inches. Section 305.4.1 requires building sewers to be no less than 12 inches below grade. Section 312.1 makes the permit holder furnish the equipment, material, power, and labor for tests, with piping tested by water or air. Section 705.10.2 calls for a purple primer conforming to ASTM F656 before solvent cement. Section 18-41 separately requires on-site wastewater systems serving residential buildings with a design capacity of 2,000 gallons per day or less to operate under a public health department permit; a county building permit does not satisfy that requirement.