West Covina, CA Plumbing Repair and Installation: Eight Water Companies and Homes From the 1950s to the 1970s

The city's utilities page lists Azusa Light and Water, Covina City Water Company, Rowland Water District, San Gabriel Valley Water Company, Suburban Water Systems, Valencia Heights Water Company, Valley County Water District and Walnut Valley Water District. The Housing Element says Suburban serves the majority of the city, and Suburban's, Valley County's, Valencia Heights' and Walnut Valley's own reports each name West Covina. No source assigns a supplier to a ZIP code, so read your bill.

Hardness varies sharply between them. Suburban's San Jose Hills system reports groundwater averaging 217 mg/L as calcium carbonate and treated surface water averaging 163. Valley County Water District averages 140 mg/L. Valencia Heights' groundwater averages 570 mg/L in the report we found, though that report is titled 2024. Hard water of that kind loads a tank heater with scale, and a tank on the 570 supply will scale faster than one on 140. For a new tank or a replacement, see water heater installation and permits.

Popping, rumbling and lukewarm showers point to sediment on the bottom of a tank, and on a gas tank, scale on the bottom makes the burner work harder to heat the water. A flush clears loose sediment, not hardened scale. When the tank itself is wet at the base, the repair question is over. For the cases where a repair makes sense, see leaking water heater repair.

Phone numbers: Suburban (626) 543-2640, Valley County Water District 626-338-7301, Valencia Heights (626) 332-8935 and Walnut Valley Water District (909) 595-7554. Use the one on your bill for pressure or a meter leak.

Census figures put the median year built at 1967, with the 1950s the largest single decade at about 35 percent of homes. We calculate that about 40 percent were built before 1960 and about 77 percent were built before 1980. Owners hold about 60 percent of homes, and some 22 percent of units sit in buildings holding five or more apartments. The city's Housing Element says the older housing lies to the west and north, toward Baldwin Park and Covina, with newer hillside homes to the east and south.

Older drain lines carry grease and roots, and in those streets a slow main drain is often the first sign. See unclogging a drain for what a camera inspection can show before anyone cuts into a yard.

A bill that climbs for no reason, a meter that moves with everything off or a warm spot on a floor all suggest a leak. We found no city source naming the common foundation type, so the plumber identifies the slab or raised floor on site and picks the matching method. The listening and thermal tools used for this are described at pinpointing a leak.

The city's permit handout says repairing leaks in pipes, valves or fixtures does not need a permit, but replacing a defective pipe is treated as new work. That distinction matters when a leak turns into a replacement.

The Housing Element says the city maintains local sewer lines and Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts maintain the trunk lines. Public Works Maintenance, at 825 S. Sunset Avenue, answers at (626) 939-8458 and is open Monday through Thursday, 8 to 4, closed Fridays. We found no sewer emergency line and no page naming the lateral's owner, so Public Works can tell you where the city's line ends. In a true emergency, dial 911.

For a blockage inside the house, a plumber clears it from a cleanout. If the camera shows damage, see sewer line service.

The Building Division is at 1444 W. Garvey Avenue South, Room 215, phone 626-939-8425, and the counter runs Monday through Thursday, 7:30 to 5:30. The city's FAQ lists installing or relocating plumbing lines and water heaters, tank or tankless, among work that needs a permit. It also says a licensed contractor or the property owner can apply. The city's other website shows a different Building phone number, so confirm before you call.

The Housing Element reports groundwater deeper than 50 feet, so liquefaction hazard is generally low, and it notes two faint fault traces that are not well studied. The east and south edges include hillside areas that were former ranches and large estates. We found no city source on landslide, expansive soil or foundation type, so those questions stay with the plumber and, on a hillside lot, an engineer. Drainage along a slope also affects where roof and yard water goes.

Azusa Avenue, Sunset Avenue, Garvey Avenue and West Covina Parkway each anchor addresses we list below. South San Jose Hills is an unincorporated community under Los Angeles County, so permits there go to the county and not to the city; we could not confirm which county office handles it.

Smaller jobs come in a line each. Water on a floor after a failed supply line, see water damage restoration with mold testing. A dripping kitchen faucet, see faucet repair. Old galvanized supply pipe, see copper and PEX repiping. A suspected leak under a slab, see under-slab leak help.

The line also handles leaking disposal repair, gas line work, water softener and filter options, switching to tankless and service line repair. Nights and weekends are covered, and the how emergencies are handled shows the process.