The City of Falls Church gets its water from Fairfax Water, which owns the service line up to and including the meter, while the customer owns the pipe after it. When the buried line to your house leaks, a plumber can locate it and repair or replace it. Call the number on this page to be connected with a local plumber in Falls Church.
Falls Church in brief
Falls Church is a small independent city just inside the Beltway, where Route 29 and Route 7 meet, about eight miles from downtown Washington. The City says Fairfax Water provides its water; the City's former water utility, which also served much of eastern Fairfax County, now belongs to Fairfax Water. The Falls Church mailing area spreads well beyond the city into Fairfax and Arlington counties, so a Falls Church address doesn't always mean City permits. The median home in the city was built in 1971, and about half the homes are older than that, so many service lines here have decades of wear.
What to do now
- Shut the main valve if water is coming into the basement or crawlspace.
- Test the meter. Close every tap and appliance and watch the leak indicator for a few minutes.
- Check the meter box. If water is pooling at the meter or in the street, call Fairfax Water at 703-698-5800.
- Confirm your jurisdiction. Inside city limits, the City of Falls Church Department of Code Administration issues permits; outside, it's Fairfax County or Arlington County.
- Look up your pipe. Fairfax Water's service line inventory and Lead Free Fairfax survey track the material on the customer side.
- Call a plumber to pinpoint the leak and price the repair.
Signs and likely causes
| Symptom | Likely cause |
|---|---|
| Brown or rusty water after the house sits | Older galvanized pipe in the supply |
| Front yard soggy in dry weather | Leak in the buried service line |
| Weak pressure in every room | Narrowed or partly broken line |
| Damp foundation wall at the pipe entry | Failed fitting or cracked pipe at the wall |
| Leak showing after a cold snap | Freeze split near the foundation |
Cost factors
- Pipe age and material: original lines on older homes are often replaced rather than patched
- Run length and depth from the meter to the house
- Sidewalks, steps, driveways and old trees over the line
- Whether the line enters a finished basement
- Permits from the City's Code Administration counter at 300 Park Avenue, 703-248-5080, for homes inside city limits
Plumber Washington DC Pros is a referral service, not a plumbing company. Your call is connected with an independent local plumber who works in Falls Church and can explain whether a repair or a new line is the better value for your house.
Water Line Repair questions in Falls Church
Who owns the pipe between the water meter and my house?
Does repairing or replacing a water service line need a permit here?
What are service lines on homes like mine usually made of?
Can winter freezes damage the buried water line?
More plumbing services in Falls Church
Water Line Repair nearby
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