Plumbers in Oakton, VA

Between Fairfax and Vienna

Oakton is a fully suburban, unincorporated community in central Fairfax County, set between the City of Fairfax and the Town of Vienna and about 15 miles from downtown Washington. The census-designated place counted 36,732 residents in 2020, many of them family households. I-66 and Route 123 cross the area, and the Oakton Library, Flint Hill School and Waples Mill Elementary are local markers. The median home was built around 1983.

Which water utility?

Fairfax County lists Fairfax Water, the Fairfax County Water Authority, for county residents, and most Oakton homes are its customers. The Town of Vienna's water system also serves customers outside town limits, so some Oakton homes near Vienna get Vienna water, and possibly Vienna sewer, instead. Your bill settles it; Vienna's water and sewer office is 703-255-6385, and Fairfax Water customer service is 703-698-5800, with an automated after-hours option.

Fairfax Water draws from the Occoquan Reservoir at its Griffith plant and the Potomac River at its Corbalis plant. It normally uses chloramines from July through March and free chlorine from April through June. Its analyses describe moderately hard water, about 7.5 grains per gallon on average from Corbalis. Fairfax Water owns and maintains the meter and its setting; the homeowner owns every pipe on the property, including the service lateral from the street meter or valve to the main shutoff inside. Owners can report their line's material through the Lead Free Fairfax survey.

Permits, even for like-for-like swaps

Fairfax County Land Development Services handles residential plumbing permits and Household Appliance permits through PLUS (703-222-0801). Replacing a gas water heater or furnace needs a permit even when the new unit matches the old one. An unpermitted swap can come up later at resale, so it is worth asking the plumber you're connected with to pull it.

Backflow and sewer

Fairfax Water's cross-connection program, run with Fairfax County Land Development Services, requires irrigation backflow assemblies to be tested at installation, every year and whenever they are repaired or replaced; the cross-connection department is at 571-722-7653. On the sewer side, Fairfax County's Wastewater Management program owns the mains, the owner maintains the private lateral under County Code 65-6-1, and the county's 24-hour line is 703-323-1211. Homes on Vienna sewer call the town instead.

Gas

Fairfax County says Washington Gas serves most residents, with Columbia Gas of Virginia limited to parts of Chantilly and Herndon. If you smell gas, leave the building first, then call 911 and Washington Gas at 844-WASHGAS (844-927-4427), option 1.

Oakton and the District

Inside Washington, DC Water and the DC Department of Buildings cover everything. Oakton may involve Fairfax Water or Vienna's utility plus county permits. When you call, say which utility bills you and what is wrong, and you will be connected with an independent plumber who sets price and timing with you.