Plumbers in Herndon, VA

A small town in the Dulles corridor

Herndon is an incorporated town in Fairfax County, about 21 miles from downtown Washington, with 24,655 residents in the 2020 Census. It keeps a historic downtown along Elden Street (Route 228), with the Herndon Depot Museum and the W&OD Trail, while the Dulles Toll Road and a Silver Line Metro station tie it into the Dulles Technology Corridor. Herndon mailing addresses also cover unincorporated Fairfax County outside the town, including areas south of the toll road, and those follow county rules.

The town's water and sewer

The Town of Herndon Department of Public Works runs the water system inside town limits and maintains the sanitary sewers, billing for both. It buys finished water from Fairfax Water, mostly from the Corbalis plant on the Potomac River. Fairfax Water's data for that plant show moderately hard water averaging about 128 mg/L, roughly 7.5 grains per gallon, varying with the season, so scale is a slow-building issue for water heaters. The town's own report lists chlorine as the disinfectant. Its service line inventory, at herndon-va.gov/LeadandCopper, sorts lines as non-lead, galvanized, galvanized requiring replacement or unknown, and the town reports no lead service lines found. Utility contacts include the Public Works Utility Manager at 703-435-6800, ext. 2153, and the Operations Division at 703-435-6860.

Permits and backflow inside town

Herndon's Building Inspections office, part of Public Works, issues building permits and separate trade permits, including Plumbing/Gas and Mechanical, for work inside town limits; applications go by email to [email protected]. The same office runs the town's backflow program: devices in town, irrigation systems included, must be tested every year by a certified backflow tester, with results sent on the town's test report form. Herndon-addressed properties outside the town go through Fairfax County Land Development Services (703-222-0801).

Two gas utilities, depending on the address

Columbia Gas of Virginia serves the Town of Herndon. Some unincorporated addresses with a Herndon mailing address are on Washington Gas instead, and the company named on your gas bill is the one to call. If you smell gas, leave the building first and call 911. Then call Columbia Gas of Virginia at 1-800-544-5606, or, if your bill is from Washington Gas, call 844-WASHGAS (844-927-4427), option 1.

Housing

The median Herndon home was built around 1983, with older houses in and near the historic district. Typical calls include water heater replacements, worn fixture valves, drain stoppages, sump pump failures and frozen pipes after cold nights.

Herndon versus the District

In DC, DC Water and Washington Gas serve nearly every home and the DC Department of Buildings issues permits. Herndon has its own utility and permit desk inside town, Columbia Gas in town, and county rules just outside. When you call, say whether you are inside the town and describe the problem, and you will be connected with an independent plumber who sets price and timing with you.