Plumbers in Highland, CA

At the foot of the San Bernardino Mountains

Highland is a San Bernardino County city at the southern base of the San Bernardino Mountains, about 16 miles from Riverside in a straight line and next door to San Bernardino. It incorporated in 1987 and counted 56,999 residents in 2020. Navel oranges and the railroads built the town, and it still divides into Highland, East Highland and West Highland. Base Line is the main east-west street, Fifth Street follows the old Santa Ana Canyon Road, and the Palm Avenue area holds the Highland Historic District.

Water and sewer through East Valley Water District

City plan-check materials name East Valley Water District (EVWD) as the water agency for Highland, and an EVWD letter on the city's site confirms district water and sewer mains in front of a Highland property. The city requires structures to connect to sewer where it is available, subject to EVWD review. Not every single address is necessarily inside EVWD's area, so your utility bill is the best check. Hardness varies by source; like most of the Inland Empire, Highland's water can leave scale in water heaters and on fixtures, and EVWD's water quality report is the place to look for numbers.

A mix of older and newer homes

The median Highland home dates to 1983, and about 44 percent were built before 1980, with the 1980s and 1990s as the busiest building decades. That spread shapes the calls. Pre-1980 houses can still have galvanized supply pipe, cast iron drains and older clay or cast iron sewer laterals, while 1980s and 1990s homes tend to need water heater replacements, valve and fixture updates and the occasional slab leak.

Permits and gas safety

Highland's Building & Safety Division at 27215 Base Line St. handles permits; the Permit Counter is (909) 864-8732 x232 and inspection requests go to x228. The city's permit page says permits are required for plumbing systems and for residential water heaters. SoCalGas serves Highland. If a gas smell turns up indoors, leave first, and only then call 911 and SoCalGas at 1-800-427-2200 from a safe spot outside. Homes that run on propane or are all-electric should call 911 and their propane supplier instead.

What is different from Riverside, and what a call involves

Riverside Public Utilities and the City of Riverside's sewer system do not reach Highland, so leaks at the meter or in the street go to EVWD, not RPU. Foothill frost is also a little more likely on exposed hose bibs and pipes than in central Riverside. Call the number on this page, describe the problem and say whether the water or gas is off, and you will be connected with an independent plumber serving Highland. Cost and timing are worked out directly with that plumber.