In McLean, Fairfax Water owns the service line up to and including the meter, and the customer owns the pipe after the meter. When the buried line to your house leaks or loses pressure, a plumber can find the break and repair or replace it. Call the number on this page to be connected with a local plumber in McLean.
The McLean picture
McLean is an unincorporated inner suburb about nine miles from downtown Washington, with the Beltway, Georgetown Pike and the George Washington Memorial Parkway running through it. The median home was built in 1976, but many lots hold homes that are much older or newly rebuilt, and big setbacks from the street mean service lines can be long. A line that runs under a long driveway, mature trees and stone walls is a different job from a short townhouse connection.
Fairfax Water supplies the area, drawing on the Potomac River and the Occoquan Reservoir, and some of its customers receive water treated by the Washington Aqueduct. It keeps an online service line material inventory and asks owners to report their side's pipe material through the Lead Free Fairfax survey. Doing that before a repair tells you whether you're patching good copper or an aging line worth replacing.
Fairfax County Land Development Services requires permits for new, repaired or relocated plumbing, filed online through PLUS.
Section repair or full replacement
| Factor | Section repair | Full replacement |
|---|---|---|
| Pipe condition | Sound pipe with one failure | Aging, corroded or mixed materials |
| Long run under hardscape | Less disruption now | Trenchless methods may limit digging |
| Rebuild or addition planned | Stopgap until then | Can be sized for the new house |
| Pressure | Unchanged | Can improve if the old line is restricted |
Signs to watch
- A wet stretch of driveway edge or lawn that never dries
- Pressure that falls when irrigation and showers run together
- Meter movement with everything closed
- Staining on the basement wall at the pipe's entry point
Timing notes
Cold snaps are when weak lines show themselves, and a split near the foundation can flood a finished basement quickly. Fairfax Water's spring switch from chloramines to free chlorine can change the water's taste for a few weeks, which is not a sign of a pipe problem. For water main breaks or after-hours emergencies at the meter, Fairfax Water's line is 703-698-5613. A slow leak in the yard can usually wait for a scheduled visit, but water coming through a basement wall should be stopped at the main shutoff right away and handled that day.
Water Line Repair questions in McLean
Who owns the pipe between the water meter and my house?
Can a new service line go in without digging a long trench?
How do I find out whether my service line is lead or galvanized steel?
Can a failing service line lower pressure throughout the house?
More plumbing services in McLean
Water Line Repair nearby
Sources
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