A Colton slab leak is a water line leaking under the concrete floor, and with a median home built in 1979, a lot of that buried pipe is now more than forty years old. The City of Colton runs the water system and requires a building permit to replace water lines. Call the number on this page to be connected with a local plumber in Colton.
Colton in brief
The Hub City runs its own water and wastewater utilities. City water is mostly local groundwater from seven city wells and is disinfected with chlorine; total hardness for the Colton/Rialto sources averages about 207 mg/L, which is hard. Census survey figures reported by Point2Homes put the median home at 1979, with about half built before 1980 and the biggest single share from the 1980s. That makes aging copper under slabs a common story here.
What to do now
- Stop all water use, including the sprinklers, and read the meter.
- Wait about an hour and read it again. Any change means water is going somewhere.
- Close the house shutoff and watch the meter: if it stops, the leak is indoors or under the slab.
- Walk the floors for warmth or dampness, starting near the water heater, kitchen and baths.
- If water is surfacing at the meter or in the street, call the city's after-hours line at (909) 370-5000 when the office is closed; city crews respond to main breaks and service line leaks.
- Keep the house shutoff closed between uses until the repair is done.
- Move rugs and furniture away from any warm or wet area and take photos for your files.
Symptoms and usual causes
| Symptom | Likely cause |
|---|---|
| Warm floor in one area | Hot supply line leaking under the slab |
| Meter keeps moving after the house shutoff is closed | Break in the yard line between meter and house |
| White crust on a valve or fitting | Slow drip leaving hard-water minerals behind |
| Damp baseboard with no fixture nearby | Leak under the slab wicking into the wall |
| Hot water running out quickly | Hot water leaking away before it reaches fixtures |
Cost factors
- Time to isolate, pressure test and pinpoint the leak
- Repairing through the slab versus rerouting through the attic or walls
- Opening and restoring tile, wood or carpet
- Drying and repairing wet walls or cabinets
- A permit from the City of Colton Building & Safety Division, (909) 370-5079, which lists replacing water or sewer lines among work that needs one
In an older Colton house, ask whether the rest of the buried pipe is likely to hold up. If testing shows more weak spots, a reroute or repipe may cost less over time than repeated trips through the floor.
Slab Leak Repair questions in Colton
Does a slab leak repair or reroute need a permit?
Are older homes here more likely to get slab leaks?
Does hard water cause slab leaks?
Water is bubbling up in the yard near the meter. Whose problem is that?
More plumbing services in Colton
Slab Leak Repair nearby
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