Plumbers in Alexandria, VA

The city and the mailing address are not the same

Alexandria is an independent city on the Potomac, about 6 miles from downtown Washington, with 159,467 residents in the 2020 Census. It has been a city since 1870, and its 18th-century Old Town still anchors King Street, with Del Ray, Rosemont, Potomac Yard and the high-rise West End spreading out along Duke Street and Richmond Highway. One detail matters for every service call: ZIP codes 22303, 22306 through 22312 and 22315 carry an Alexandria address but are largely unincorporated Fairfax County. Those homes generally get water straight from Fairfax Water and use county permits and sewers, so confirm which side of the line you are on.

Water inside the city

Virginia American Water serves the city as a consecutive system, buying treated water from Fairfax Water's Corbalis plant on the Potomac and Griffith plant on the Occoquan Reservoir. It is disinfected with chloramine, with a switch to free chlorine during Fairfax Water's spring flushing from roughly April to June, when some people notice a chlorine taste. The utility's annual report gives total hardness between 78 and 191 ppm, so scale in tank and tankless heaters is a fair thing to check. Customer service is 1-800-452-6863 on weekdays.

Service lines can be partly utility-owned and partly customer-owned, and the owner handles plumbing inside the home. Virginia American Water publishes a service line material map at virginiaamwater.com/leadfacts; if your side shows as unknown, you can send your address and a pipe photo, and the company says it will remove lead and lead-connected galvanized lines over time.

Sewers, Old Town and backups

The city owns the public sewers and the city-owned portions of laterals, and AlexRenew treats the flow for the city and parts of Fairfax County. Part of Old Town is on a combined sewer system, where storm runoff and household wastewater share pipes. For owners worried about basement backups, the city offers a reimbursement for backflow preventers installed on sewer laterals, which is worth asking about before a plumber puts one in.

Homes, gas and permits

The median home in the city dates to about 1974, but Old Town and Del Ray hold far older rowhouses and frame houses where cast iron drains, older supply lines and tight basements are common. Washington Gas supplies gas; if you smell it, leave the building first, then call 911 and Washington Gas at 844-WASHGAS (844-927-4427), option 1. Inside city limits, the Department of Code Administration Permit Center handles construction and fuel gas permits through its APEX system. Addresses in Fairfax County go to the county instead.

Compared with the District

DC homes deal with DC Water and the DC Department of Buildings. Alexandria splits the job between a private water company, city sewers and a separate treatment authority. When you call, tell us your street and what you are seeing, and you will be connected with an independent plumber who sets price and timing with you.