In Silver Spring, a slab leak usually means a water line leaking under a basement floor or a slab-on-grade room, and with the median house built around 1964, those buried lines are often original. WSSC Water owns part of the service line; the rest of it, and all the piping inside, belongs to the owner. Call the number on this page to be connected with a local plumber in Silver Spring.
Silver Spring at a glance
Silver Spring sits on the District's northern border, about six miles from downtown Washington, with a dense downtown ringed by older inside-the-Beltway neighborhoods such as Woodside Park, Long Branch and Lyttonsville. Plenty of these houses still carry first-generation copper or galvanized supply piping. WSSC Water provides water and sewer and adds orthophosphate at both of its plants to coat pipe interiors and slow corrosion, which helps, but it can't undo decades of wear on an old line.
What to do now
- Confirm the leak. Turn off every faucet, appliance and the ice maker, then watch the meter. Movement with nothing running means water is escaping somewhere.
- Limit the damage. If water is showing on the floor, close the main shutoff, typically near where the line comes through the basement wall or floor.
- Check the hot side. If the warm spot or sound seems tied to hot water, closing the cold inlet valve on the water heater can slow the loss.
- Decide who gets the call. Water rising near the street or around the meter goes to WSSC Water's Emergency Service Center at 301-206-4002. Anything inside the foundation is a plumber's job.
- Protect belongings. Lift rugs, boxes and electronics off a damp basement floor.
Symptoms and likely causes
| What you notice | Likely cause |
|---|---|
| Meter turns with all fixtures off | Pressurized leak in the supply piping or the service line |
| Warm patch on a tiled or concrete floor | Hot water line leaking below it |
| Damp carpet or white mineral bloom on the basement slab, far from any drain | Supply line weeping up through the concrete |
| Hissing near the foundation wall when the house is quiet | Leak close to where the service line enters |
| Musty odor and a rising bill with no visible water | Slow leak soaking into the soil under the slab |
What affects the cost
The biggest variables are how long it takes to pinpoint the leak, whether the plumber opens the slab or reroutes new pipe overhead through the basement, and what has to be removed and restored on top of the concrete. In a 1950s or 1960s house, a plumber may also recommend replacing a longer stretch if the surrounding pipe shows heavy corrosion. Plumbing permits here come from WSSC Water rather than the county, and the work is handled by a plumber registered with WSSC.
Slab Leak Repair questions in Silver Spring
Doesn't the utility treat the water to protect pipes from corrosion?
Most houses around here have basements. Can they still get a slab leak?
Should I call the water utility or a plumber first?
Can the main water line leak where it comes in under the basement floor?
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