The City of Colton Water Department serves residents and businesses within the city, and a leak in the pipe between the meter and the house is usually a private repair. Colton requires a building permit to replace water lines, so a full replacement goes through the city. Call the number on this page to be connected with a local plumber in Colton.
Colton in a few lines
The Hub City runs its own water and wastewater utilities from offices on La Cadena Drive, and its drinking water is mostly local groundwater from seven city wells in three basins, disinfected with chlorine. The City can also draw on an interconnection with Rialto and, when needed, treated groundwater from San Bernardino. About half of Colton's homes, 51.5%, were built before 1980, and the median year built is 1979, so many service lines have several decades of use behind them. Colton water is hard, too, averaging about 207 mg/L for its Colton/Rialto sources. Older neighborhoods and newer areas such as Cooley Ranch can have very different pipe under the yard, so the plumber will want to know roughly when your house was built.
Steps to take right away
- Shut off the water at the house valve if water is spraying or pooling fast.
- Look at the meter box and street. If the water is there, call the City's after-hours line, (909) 370-5000, or customer service at (909) 370-5555 during the day.
- If it is in the yard between the meter and the house, turn off the irrigation.
- Take a meter reading and check it again after an hour with no water use.
- Mark the wettest spots and note anything that has settled.
- Call a plumber and describe what you found.
Matching symptoms to causes
| Symptom | Likely cause |
|---|---|
| Rusty water at first draw | Corroding galvanized pipe, common in older homes |
| Soggy yard near the house | Leak on the private service line |
| Weak flow everywhere | Line narrowed by rust and scale, or a leak |
| Water at the meter or curb | Problem on the City side |
| Shutoff valve won't close fully | Mineral buildup from hard water |
What goes into the cost
- Run length and depth from meter to house
- Whether the pipe is old enough that a patch only buys time
- Concrete, block walls and trees over the route
- Replacing a crusted shutoff valve at the same time
- The building permit: Colton's Building & Safety Division, (909) 370-5079, lists replacing water or sewer lines among the jobs that need one, while swapping fixtures on existing plumbing does not
Water Line Repair questions in Colton
Do I need a permit to repair or replace the water service line?
Is there an after-hours number for a break on the utility side?
Does hard water affect an old service line?
What material is my service line likely made of?
More plumbing services in Colton
Water Line Repair nearby
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