Water Line Repair in Riverdale, MD

Signs your service line needs work

• A long, damp strip of lawn between the street and your front wall
• Water pressure that drops whenever two fixtures run
• Rust-colored water after the house has sat unused overnight
• A meter that keeps turning while nothing is on
• Puddling or efflorescence on the basement wall at the pipe entry

Riverdale's water lines

Riverdale Park grew as a streetcar suburb along US 1 just south of College Park, and the median home in town was built in 1957. Houses from that era can still have their original galvanized steel or early copper service line. WSSC Water's What's Your Pipe Type? program inventories both the utility-owned and customer-owned portions, verifies lines listed as lead, unknown or galvanized, and helps customers replace lead lines on either side. If you're planning to replace your portion, WSSC asks customers to let it know first.

For water rising in the street or at the meter, call WSSC's Emergency Service Center at 301-206-4002; customer service is 301-206-4001. Hardness depends on which WSSC treatment plant serves your area, and Potomac plant water runs harder than Patuxent plant water. That affects water heaters and fixtures more than the buried line, which in a 1950s house more often fails from internal corrosion or a joint giving way.

What affects the cost

• Old versus newer pipe. Galvanized lines usually call for a full replacement.
• Lot layout. Front steps, porches and older trees along the route slow the work.
• Utility coordination. If the WSSC portion also needs attention, timing the two jobs together can reduce digging.
• Basement entry. Older foundations need careful sealing where the new pipe comes through.
• Permits. WSSC requires service line repairs and replacements to be done by a plumber holding a WSSC license under a WSSC permit.

What happens when you call

Plumber Washington DC Pros puts you in touch with an independent local plumber who covers Riverdale; we don't do the work ourselves. Let the plumber know when the house was built, whether pressure dropped suddenly or slowly, and where the ground is wet. From there they can locate the leak, check the pipe material and lay out repair or replacement options.