In construction laterals are any horizontal line coming off a main line, whether it is irrigation, gas, sewer or electric.
In irrigation, the pipes or tubes between the on/off valve and the sprinkler heads or emitters are called “laterals.” These lateral pipes or tubes are not pressurized unless the valve is open and the sprinklers are operating.
EXAMPLES:
The laterals we installed for our sprinkler system did the job well.
Lateral pipes are buried about a foot underground so they remain safe from weather and cars.
The sewer lateral in the figure runs from the main sewer line in the street to the house.
The sewer lateral is usually buried in several feet of soil and runs from the house to the sewer line.
