Takoma Park's median home was built in 1954, and the Victorian-era suburb's heavy tree canopy adds root pressure to old buried pipe, so service line leaks and weak flow are common here. A plumber can repair the damaged section or replace your portion of the line under a WSSC Water permit. Call the number on this page to be connected with a local plumber in Takoma Park.
Why do Takoma Park water lines give out?
Takoma Park was founded in 1883 as a commuter suburb on the DC line, and it has a large National Register historic district. With a median build year of 1954 citywide, many houses still have the service line they were built with, or one replaced decades ago. Old galvanized pipe corrodes from the inside and slowly chokes off flow; older copper and its joints can weep. The city, known as Azalea City, also has a heavy tree canopy, so big roots sit near many lines, where they can squeeze pipe or shift the soil around a fitting.
Is my service line lead, and who helps replace it?
WSSC Water supplies Takoma Park. Its What's Your Pipe Type? program inventories materials on both the utility and customer portions of each service line, verifies lines recorded as lead, unknown or galvanized, and helps customers replace lead lines on either portion. Look up your address on the inventory map before deciding between a patch and a new line, especially in an older house.
Who owns which part, and what is the process?
WSSC says part of the service line belongs to the utility and part to the customer, and it asks customers planning to replace their portion to notify it. Service line repairs and replacements go through WSSC's ePermitting system and are done by a plumber registered with WSSC Water. If water is surfacing at the curb or in the street, report it to WSSC's Emergency Service Center at 301-206-4002 first so it can check its side.
On a typical job, the plumber confirms the leak with a meter test, locates the line, and talks through options. In a yard full of mature trees and old walks, pulling new pipe between two small pits can avoid cutting major roots. Where the old pipe is galvanized, full replacement is usually the better long-term answer than repairing one spot.
One Takoma Park note
When a new service line goes in, the plumber should also look at the main shutoff valve and the first few feet of pipe inside the house. In homes this age, an old gate valve or a galvanized section right after the entry can keep pressure low even after the buried line is new.
Water Line Repair questions in Takoma Park
Can tree roots damage a buried water line?
Is there help with the cost of replacing a lead service line?
Do I have to tell WSSC Water before replacing my part of the line?
Can a failing service line drop the pressure everywhere in the house?
More plumbing services in Takoma Park
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