Plumbers in Centreville, VA

Western Fairfax County at the I-66 junction

Centreville grew up where I-66, U.S. Route 29 and Virginia Route 28 meet, roughly 23 miles west of downtown Washington in a straight line. It is an unincorporated census-designated place with 73,518 residents in 2020, described as the most populous community in Fairfax County. Braddock Road runs along its southern side, and the Centreville Military Railroad site and the regional library are among its landmarks. Most of the town filled in during the 1980s and 1990s.

Newer houses, different problems

With a median build year around 1991, Centreville's homes are mostly from the copper and PEX era rather than the galvanized pipe of older inner suburbs. That shifts the usual calls toward water heaters reaching the end of their life, worn fixture valves, sump pumps in finished basements, clogged sewer laterals and leaks in the yard line. Frozen hose bibs and pipes in exterior walls still show up after hard freezes.

Water: Fairfax Water

Fairfax Water treats Potomac River water at its Corbalis plant and Occoquan Reservoir water at its Griffith plant, and its system also connects to Washington Aqueduct supply. It uses chloramine for most of the year, roughly July through March, and free chlorine from about April to June, so a stronger chlorine taste in spring is normal. Its plant analyses put Corbalis water at an average around 128 mg/L hardness, about 7.5 grains per gallon, which counts as moderately hard and varies by season.

The utility owns the meter. The buried line from the meter or street valve to the main shutoff in your house is the homeowner's plumbing, so a wet patch in the lawn between the street and the house is usually a private repair. Fairfax Water also runs a Lead Free Fairfax survey asking customers to identify their side of the service line. Customer service is 703-698-5800.

Sewer backups and permits

Fairfax County's Department of Public Works and Environmental Services owns the public mains, and the private lateral from the house belongs to the owner; the county doesn't locate private laterals. If sewage backs up, call the county's 24-hour line, 703-323-1211, so it can check the main. If the main is clear, the clog is in your lateral and a plumber takes it from there.

Permits come from Fairfax County Land Development Services through the PLUS system (703-222-0801). A like-for-like gas water heater, furnace or boiler replacement with no new gas piping uses a Household Appliance permit, and new gas piping needs a Residential Plumbing permit.

Gas and the difference from DC

Washington Gas serves most of Fairfax County. If you smell gas, leave the house first, then call 911 and Washington Gas at 844-WASHGAS (844-927-4427), option 1. Compared with the District, where DC Water and the DC Department of Buildings handle utilities and permits, Centreville answers to county agencies and a separate water authority. When you call, mention your neighborhood and the problem, and you will be connected with an independent plumber who sets price and timing with you.