Plumbing Across L.A.

The neighborhood paper about the pipes under Los Angeles houses

Neighborhood edition

South L.A. & Inglewood: early houses and who supplies the water

South Los Angeles old house plumbing often means pre-war pipes and long laterals on LADWP water; Inglewood, next door, is a separate city, so its supplier and rules are its own.

From the Plumbing Across L.A. desk. Updated .

Stucco apartment houses at a street corner under bare trees
Leimert Park, Los Angeles.

Stories filed for this part of town

South L.A. has many early houses, and the paperwork for them can be thin. Before you read about a rule, work out which city and which supplier you're dealing with.

Who supplies your water here

In the City of Los Angeles part of this edition, LADWP supplies the water. Its report puts Baldwin Hills, Crenshaw, Hyde Park, Mid City and Watts in the Central area, and doesn't name every neighborhood, so Leimert Park and West Adams aren't on the list. Check your bill for those.

LADWP's 2025 table for this area shows the aqueduct plant at 6.0 grains per gallon and the southern wells at 6.8, and State Water Project supply can join them. LADWP's FAQ gives an older 2022 average of 9.8 grains for Silver Lake, Downtown and South L.A., with a range of 5.4 to 17.0, which shows how much it can move.

Inglewood is a separate city. Its water utility publishes its own report, and this paper hasn't confirmed its hardness, nor whether every Inglewood address gets the city's water. Gardena, Hawthorne and unincorporated Lennox aren't on LADWP's list either. The name on your bill settles it.

Aerial view of a long straight boulevard through low houses
La Brea Avenue through Inglewood, from the air.

What kind of houses are here

Many are pre-war, though the records this paper could read are thin on block-by-block dates. The National Park Service says Leimert Park was developed in 1928 and designed by the Olmsted Brothers firm for low- and middle-income families, one of the city's first planned communities. Its plan hid utility wires and planted trees densely, so old street trees and older laterals may share ground.

Watts had its own growth surge. The LA Conservancy records that it more than tripled between 1920 and 1926, from 4,529 people to an estimated 16,000, before it was annexed to Los Angeles on May 29, 1926.

The city's SurveyLA report for West Adams, Baldwin Hills and Leimert surveyed about 33,411 of 40,999 parcels. Inglewood has no historic preservation ordinance, per the Conservancy, so there is no district list to check against. For most houses here, begin with before 1930 or the 1930s and 1940s, and allow for pipes replaced by some earlier owner.

What tends to go wrong here

These follow from age, since nobody publishes failure counts here.

  • Water pipes. Galvanized pipe can mean low pressure and brown water, and repiping is a licensed job with a permit question.
  • Drains. Older houses often have cast iron and clay drains. Street trees add root trouble.
  • Laterals and rebates. City of Los Angeles owners maintain the lateral to the main, including under the street, and can look at LA Sanitation's rebates: up to $300 for a camera inspection and up to $2,500 for repair, while funds last. Inglewood owners should ask Inglewood.
  • Lead. LADWP's inventory found no lead service lines, but that doesn't cover the pipes inside your house. Lead at your tap has LADWP's flushing and filter advice.

Neighborhood stops

  1. Leimert ParkSee your bill; LADWP's list omits itFrom 1928, oftenPlanned by the Olmsted Brothers firm.
  2. Baldwin HillsLADWP (Central list)All sortsSlopes above the flat grid.
  3. WattsLADWP (Central list)Pre-war, oftenAnnexed to Los Angeles in 1926.
  4. West AdamsSee your bill; LADWP's list omits itBefore 1930, oftenSome surveyed Craftsman houses date to the 1910s.
  5. InglewoodSee your bill; its own cityAll sortsSewer and water questions go to Inglewood.

Who handles this

Questions that come up

Do City of Los Angeles sewer rebates apply in Inglewood?

No. They are for ratepayers paying the City of Los Angeles's sewer service charge, in good standing.

LADWP says no lead lines. Is an old house clear, then?

No. The inventory covers service lines. Faucets, solder and interior pipe are yours, and LADWP's advice on flushing and certified filters still applies.

Who can tell me what's in my walls?

A licensed plumber looking at exposed pipe can tell you a good deal. The building year is only a clue.

What this was checked against

  1. Central list and plant numbers: LADWP report
  2. Leimert Park: National Park Service
  3. Watts growth and annexation: LA Conservancy
  4. SurveyLA parcel counts: Los Angeles City Planning
  5. Repair rebate terms: LA Sanitation

Sources read in November 2026. Rules and prices change: check the agency before you act.