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The pipe from your water meter to your house is yours, not the water district’s. When it leaks, cracks or corrodes, we find the leak before we dig, show you where it is, and give you a firm price to repair or replace the line.
The dividing line is the meter. The utility owns the main, the line to the meter, and the meter. From the meter to your house, the pipe and any leak in it are the property owner’s to fix.
Serves the city of Santa Cruz and nearby areas.
Serves much of Capitola, Soquel and Aptos. The district can shut off your meter so the line can be repaired.
Not sure which one you have? It’s printed on your water bill.
Turn off every tap, appliance and irrigation zone, then watch the small leak indicator on the meter. If it turns, water is leaving somewhere.
Check firstWater from a buried leak surfaces along the path of the line, often between the meter and the house.
Call soonA steady underground leak can run for months without showing on the surface. A higher bill is often the first clue.
Check firstA slow decline, not a sudden change, points to corrosion narrowing an old galvanized line, or a leak bleeding off flow.
Inspect the lineGalvanized steel corrodes from the inside. Much of Santa Cruz’s pre-1960 housing still has it, at least in part.
Plan a replacementDigging to guess where a leak is costs you a lawn, a walkway, or a driveway. We find it first.
| What the line is | What we usually recommend |
|---|---|
| Copper or polyethylene in good shape, single leak | Repair the damaged section. One excavation, one fix. |
| Galvanized steel | Replace. It corrodes from the inside, and a second leak usually follows the first. |
| Gray polybutylene (common from the late 1970s to the mid 1990s) | Replace. It’s known for failing at fittings and from the inside. |
| Any line that has leaked before | Usually replace. Patching an old line repeatedly costs more than a new one. |
| Line too small for the house | Replace with a larger size, often during a remodel or ADU addition. |
A new line can sometimes be pulled or bored under a driveway, walkway or landscaping instead of trenching through it. Whether that works depends on soil, depth and what’s in the way. We’ll tell you after we look. If your house also has old galvanized pipe inside the walls, see copper repiping in Santa Cruz.
The California Plumbing Code (§608.2) requires a pressure regulator where static water pressure is over 80 psi. High pressure shortens the life of the line, the water heater, faucets and toilet fill valves. Pressure varies a lot across the county with elevation, so we measure it on every main line job. If your regulator is missing or has failed, we’ll tell you and can replace it while the water is off.
Replacing a water service line generally requires a plumbing permit and an inspection. Inside the cities of Santa Cruz, Capitola and Scotts Valley, it goes through the city. In unincorporated areas such as Aptos, Soquel and Live Oak, it goes through the County. We pull the permit, call 811 to have underground utilities marked before we dig, and meet the inspector. Unpermitted work tends to surface later, often during a sale.
You are. The water utility owns the main in the street, the line to the meter, and the meter itself. Everything after the meter belongs to the property owner. Soquel Creek Water District states this directly: the owner is responsible for plumbing after the connection at the meter, and the district is responsible for the meter and its fittings.
Turn off every fixture and appliance, then watch the meter. If the small leak indicator still turns, water is going somewhere. Other signs: a wet or unusually green strip in the yard, water pooling near the house, a water bill that jumped, pressure that dropped over time, or the sound of running water with everything off.
Call your water utility first. The meter and its fittings are theirs. City of Santa Cruz Water customers can call (831) 420-5220, or (831) 429-7525 after hours. Soquel Creek Water District is (831) 475-8500. If the leak turns out to be on your side of the meter, call us.
Repair it if the line is in good shape and the leak is a single failure, like a cracked fitting or a pipe damaged by a root or a shovel. Replace it if the line is old galvanized steel, gray polybutylene, has leaked more than once, or is too small for the house. We show you the condition of the pipe before recommending either.
Replacing a water service line generally requires a plumbing permit and inspection. Inside city limits that goes through the city; in unincorporated areas like Aptos, Soquel and Live Oak it goes through the County. We pull the permit, call 811 to mark underground utilities before we dig, and meet the inspector.
Not usually. We locate the leak first so a repair means one small excavation, not a trench the length of the yard. For a full replacement, a new line can sometimes be pulled or bored under a driveway or landscaping instead of trenching through it. Whether that works depends on soil, depth and what’s in the way, and we’ll tell you after we look.
Usually copper or polyethylene, depending on the run, the soil, and what your city or the County will approve for that job. Either one replaces galvanized steel or polybutylene for good. We explain the choice when we quote.
It can be. The California Plumbing Code (§608.2) requires a pressure regulator when static pressure is over 80 psi, and high pressure wears out fixtures, water heaters and the line itself. We check static pressure on every main line job and tell you if a regulator is needed or yours has failed.
Ask your utility. Soquel Creek Water District has a leak adjustment form. City of Santa Cruz customers can call customer service at (831) 420-5220. Either way, keep our invoice; it shows when and where the leak was repaired.
Call our Santa Cruz shop. We’ll find it, show you, and give you a firm price before we dig.
Lords of Plumbing serves Santa Cruz County from our Potrero Street shop — Santa Cruz, Capitola, Aptos, Soquel, Live Oak, Scotts Valley, and the surrounding coast. Licensed and insured. CSLB #914119.
303 Potrero St, Bldg 42 #104, Santa Cruz, CA 95060 | (831) 777-5758
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