Plumbing Across L.A.

The neighborhood paper about the pipes under Los Angeles houses

All stories, line by line

This paper files its stories on six lines: the Earthquake line for gas valves and water heater straps; the Old pipes line for galvanized, lead and clay; the Sewer and roots line for laterals, street trees and camera rebates; the Hills and slabs line for hillside pumps and leaks under concrete; the Water and the bill line for LADWP tiers, watering days and hardness; and the Permits and pros line for the paperwork and the license check.

Pick the line closest to your problem and read down it, or start instead from your neighborhood, because many of the rules in these stories stop at the City of Los Angeles line and a house in Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena or Long Beach answers to someone else.

Restored red Pacific Electric streetcar number 418 on rails
Pacific Electric Red Car 418, preserved.

Earthquake line

  1. When Los Angeles requires a seismic gas shutoff valveA seismic gas shutoff valve in Los Angeles is required before a building with gas piping is sold, and on alterations or additions valued over $10,000 when the project has gas. A licensed contractor installs it under an LADBS permit.
  2. After an earthquake: leave the gas alone unless it is leakingIf you smell or hear gas after an earthquake, get everyone out, touch no switches, and call 911 and SoCalGas from outside. Shut off at the meter only if leaking and safe. No sign of a leak? Leave it on.
  3. Strapping a water heater for an L.A. earthquakeWater heater strapping in California is state law: new, replacement and existing residential heaters must be braced, anchored or strapped against earthquake motion, and a seller must certify it in writing.

Old pipes line

  1. Galvanized pipe in an old L.A. houseGalvanized pipe in an old Los Angeles house is zinc-coated steel that corrodes from the inside. It is often found in houses from the 1960s and earlier, and LADWP says scale can't practically be removed once it builds up.
  2. Repiping a Los Angeles house without surprisesTo repipe a house in Los Angeles, expect a licensed plumber, an LADBS permit and inspection, a choice between copper and PEX, and some opened walls. The bid should spell out each of those in writing.
  3. Lead at an L.A. tap: the street is not where to lookLADWP says there are no lead service lines in its system, including customer-owned ones. If lead reaches your glass, the likely sources are faucets and old solder inside the house, and only a test can tell you.
  4. Cast iron and clay: the drains under an older L.A. houseCast iron drain pipe in an old house usually rusts and cracks, while clay sewer pipe tends to fail at its joints. A camera can show which you have and where it is failing. Repairs are licensed work.
  5. Bungalow courts and duplexes: when the pipes are sharedBungalow court plumbing in Los Angeles is often shared: one lot, one sewer lateral, sometimes one water meter. So one clog or shutoff can reach every unit, and the lot's owner usually carries the repair.

Sewer and roots line

  1. Who owns the sewer pipe under the street? In L.A., you doWho is responsible for a sewer lateral in Los Angeles? In the City of Los Angeles, the property owner is, from the house all the way to the main under the street, including under the public right-of-way.
  2. Ficus, jacaranda and your sewer lineTree roots in a sewer line in Los Angeles are the property owner's bill, even when the tree is the City's. Pruning a street tree's roots takes a no-fee permit from StreetsLA Urban Forestry Division first.
  3. Put the sewer on camera first, then ask about the rebateThe sewer lateral repair rebate in Los Angeles pays up to $2,500 for repairs and up to $300 for camera video, for City sewer ratepayers, first come, first served. Check that funds remain and keep every receipt.

Hills and slabs line

  1. Hillside houses: pumps, pressure and pipes on a slopeHillside house plumbing in Los Angeles turns on elevation. A house below the sewer may need a sewage pump, and water pressure changes with ground height. Pump and regulator work is licensed work.
  2. Slab leaks in Valley ranch housesA slab leak in the San Fernando Valley usually shows up as a meter that keeps moving with everything off, sometimes with a warm patch of floor. Check the meter first, then have a licensed plumber find it before anyone breaks concrete.
  3. Attics, crawlspaces and an L.A. heat waveAttic water heater heat safety starts with one rule: do not go up during a heat wave. Attics run hotter than outdoors. Look from the floor and outside; leave the attic to a cool morning or a licensed plumber.

Water and the bill line

  1. Reading an LADWP water bill: tiers, lot size and what an HCF isLADWP water rates for a single-family house run from $11.794 to $15.024 per HCF through December 2026, in four tiers set by lot size and season. One HCF is 748 gallons.
  2. High LADWP bill: find the leak before you call anyoneA high water bill in Los Angeles deserves a leak check before anything else: shut off all the water, watch the meter's leak gauge, then put food coloring in each toilet tank. It costs almost nothing.
  3. LADWP rebates worth checking before you buy anythingLADWP rebates pay homeowners $250 per qualifying toilet, $5 per square foot of replaced lawn, and up to $500 for a washer, all through SoCal Water$mart. Turf needs approval before you start, so read the terms first.
  4. Watering days in Los Angeles: odd, even and eight minutesLADWP watering days follow the last number of your street address: odd addresses water Monday, Wednesday and Friday; even addresses water Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. No outdoor watering runs between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.
  5. How hard is your water? It depends which side of town you are onLos Angeles water hardness runs from about 6 to about 14 grains per gallon on LADWP's 2025 figures, depending on which plant or wells feed your area. Harbor and Eastern neighborhoods can get the hardest water.
  6. Selling an L.A. house: the plumbing paperworkLos Angeles Retrofit on Resale plumbing rules require water-saving toilets and showerheads before a house in the city closes escrow, and LADWP wants a signed certificate. State fixture disclosure, seismic valve and strap rules run alongside.
  7. After a wildfire: your tap, the ash and the gasUnder a Do Not Drink notice after a wildfire in Los Angeles, don't drink or cook with tap water, and don't try to treat it. Boiling and filtering won't make it safe. Use bottled water until your utility lifts the notice.

Permits and pros line

  1. Plumbing permits at LADBS: what needs oneAn LADBS plumbing permit is required for much plumbing work in the City of Los Angeles, including replacing a gas water heater, unless a Certified Licensed Contractor does an equivalent swap. Many simple jobs qualify for express permits through PermitLA.
  2. Hiring a plumber in L.A.: check the C-36 firstA C-36 plumbing license is the California classification for plumbing work, issued by CSLB, the Contractors State License Board. Check the license online before you sign, keep any down payment within the legal limit and get the contract in writing.