Water Line Repair in Arlington, VA

Signs the service line is in trouble

• A wet or sunken patch somewhere between the meter box and your foundation
• Water seeping through the basement wall where the line enters the house
• Weak flow at every faucet at once rather than at one fixture
• A County water bill that jumps while your routine stays the same
• A hiss near the main shutoff with everything turned off

What's different in Arlington

The County's Department of Environmental Services runs the water system through its Water, Sewer, Streets Bureau, delivering Potomac River water treated by the Washington Aqueduct at the Dalecarlia plant. The split is clear: the County is responsible for everything up to and including the meter and meter box, and the pipe beyond the meter belongs to you. If water is bubbling up in the street or at the meter itself, call the County's emergency hotline, 703-228-6555, before anyone digs.

Arlington keeps a water service line inventory and says it has found no lead service lines and never used lead for its portion of the line. Residents can check their own side with a scratch and magnet test and report the material and photos online, which is a sensible step before you decide between a repair and a full replacement. The county's median home was built in 1976, and plenty of streets are older, so the private run on an older house may be well past its prime even when the County side is sound. Cold winters add another stress, since a line that sits shallow near the foundation or passes through an unheated crawlspace can freeze and split.

What shapes the cost

• Distance from meter to house. Deep front yards mean more pipe and more digging than a townhouse lot.
• Spot repair or new line. One failed joint is a small job compared with replacing the whole run.
• What's on top. Brick walks, retaining walls, driveways and mature trees add restoration work.
• The wall entry. Coming through a finished basement takes more care than an open crawlspace.
• Permits. Arlington County's building permits and inspections program handles plumbing permits through Permit Arlington; the plumber can say whether your job needs one.

When you call

Plumber Washington DC Pros is a referral service, not a plumbing company. Your call is connected with an independent local plumber who works in Arlington. Have a rough idea of where the ground is wet, when you first noticed it and whether the meter moves with every tap closed. If water is flowing hard inside, close the main shutoff first.