Plumbers in Sterling, VA

Loudoun's first big suburb

Sterling began with the Sterling Park development in the early 1960s, built on former farmland beside what became Dulles International Airport. The census-designated place counted 30,337 residents in 2020, and the Sterling postal area reaches beyond it. It lies about 23 miles from downtown Washington, with Route 28 (Sully Road), Route 7 (Leesburg Pike), Sterling Boulevard and Vestal's Gap Road crossing it and Claude Moore Park and Algonkian Regional Park nearby.

Older than the rest of Loudoun

Sterling's houses are older than most in Loudoun County. In ZIP 20164, about 43 percent of homes were built before 1980, and the largest groups date from the 1970s and 1980s. For a plumber that means more original-era supply piping, tired shutoff and stop valves, water heaters in tight utility closets, aging drain lines and laterals, and basements that depend on a working sump pump. Freeze-ups in exterior walls and crawlspaces are part of most winters.

Loudoun Water

Loudoun Water provides public water and sewer to residents outside the incorporated towns, within designated service areas, and Sterling falls in that category. Its Central System draws mainly on the Potomac River, with Goose Creek and its reservoirs as needed, and treats water at its Trap Rock facility and at Fairfax Water's Corbalis plant, where it buys water. Chloramine is the disinfectant. Loudoun Water's annual water quality report lists hardness and other measurements. The utility says it has no lead service lines and its inventory, accepted by the Virginia Department of Health, contains none. Customer relations: 571-291-7880; after-hours emergencies: 571-291-7878.

Backflow and permits

Backflow preventers on irrigation systems and pools must be tested every year by a certified tester under Loudoun Water's cross-connection program. Permits come from Loudoun County Building and Development: residential gas, mechanical and plumbing trade permits are filed as sub-records of a parent building permit, online through LandMARC or in person at 1 Harrison Street SE in Leesburg. Plan review questions go to 703-777-0220.

Gas service varies

Loudoun County says Columbia Gas and Washington Gas each serve portions of the county, with propane used where neither reaches. Look at your gas bill to know which company you have. If you smell gas, get everyone out first, then call 911 and your gas utility's emergency number from outside; on propane, call 911 and your propane supplier.

Sterling compared with DC

Like parts of the District, Sterling has plenty of houses now past 40 years old, but the utilities differ: Loudoun Water rather than DC Water, and county trade permits rather than the DC Department of Buildings. Call with your neighborhood and a description of the problem, and you will be connected with an independent plumber who agrees on price and timing with you.