Job · Who owns which pipe
Who owns which pipe at your house
The utility owns the water main and usually the line to the meter; you own what follows, and mostly the whole sewer lateral, but the dividing point changes by place.
Revised November 3, 2026 · who makes this map
| Place | What happens there | Turn to |
|---|---|---|
| DC | DC Water's duty ends at the property line or an approved projection; it maintains the service line in the public space before that point. You maintain the private side, and you are told to maintain the sewer lateral and clear its clogs. | Sheet 1 |
| Arlington | The county maintains the main-to-meter stretch of the water line. You own meter to building and the interior, including the cost of water that leaks. Laterals belong to the owner under county code. | Sheet 6 |
| Alexandria | The water company, Virginia American Water, owns the main as far as the curb stop. For sewer, the date of installation matters: before July 1, 1955 you maintain curb to property; on or after that date you maintain everything from the building to the main. | Sheet 8 |
| Unincorporated Fairfax County | Fairfax Water owns up to and including the meter; you own what follows. You own the entire sewer lateral, including the part under a public easement or road. | Sheet 12 |
| Town of Vienna | The Town of Vienna operates a water utility of its own. Under its owner agreement you maintain the sewer connection between main and building, and the water pipe beyond the meter yoke. | Sheet 14 |
| Town of Herndon | Herndon purchases its water from Fairfax Water. The Town's page puts the water pipe from meter to building and the lateral between the property line and the building on you. | Sheet 15 |
| City of Fairfax | Fairfax Water supplies the water. Under city code, the customer answers for the wastewater lateral the full distance to the main. | Sheet 16 |
| City of Falls Church | Inside the City, Fairfax Water owns and maintains the mains and service lines. We could not confirm who owns the sewer lateral; ask the Building Safety Division. | Sheet 11 |
Start with two questions
Who sends your water bill, and where is your meter? Those two facts decide most of the answer. The utility's side generally ends at the meter or the property line. Yours begins there and runs into the house. The sewer works differently, because the lateral is a single pipe that leaves the house and ends at the main, often under a street you do not own.
A mailing address does not tell you the jurisdiction. Some Fairfax County addresses carry an Alexandria or Falls Church mailing name. Check your tax record or your water bill for the real answer, then read the row above that matches.
The water side
In this region you will meet three different shapes of water arrangement.
- The utility owns through the meter. This is the Fairfax Water pattern, as the utility's own pages describe it, and the Arlington pattern, where the county stops at the meter.
- The utility owns to the property line or a public-space limit. DC Water describes its responsibility this way.
- The utility owns to the curb stop. Virginia American Water, serving Alexandria, describes its ownership that way. Its page says the customer owns from the property line to the building, which is a different spot from the city's sewer rule, so ask which line your own pipe crosses.
Those two descriptions come from search results for pages that would not open for direct reading. Treat them as a starting point and confirm with the utility.
The valve just past the meter on your side is usually your responsibility, though not in every place; if you do replace one, a licensed plumber should do it, and these are the type often fitted: ball valves at PlumbingSupplyAndMore (that store has the same owners as this map).
The sewer side
Almost everywhere on this map, the lateral is yours. Fairfax County says so in plain terms, and adds that the county does not locate private laterals. Arlington's code says the same. Alexandria is the exception that needs a date: a lateral laid before July 1, 1955 is yours from the curb to the property, while one laid on or after that date is yours from the building to the main. An August 2025 city newsletter reads the older pipes differently, saying the city is responsible from curb to main, so the city page and the newsletter do not agree. Ask Alexandria's Transportation and Environmental Services before you pay for anything.
In DC, once DC Water finds the main clear, the lateral clog is your bill, and a registered master plumber has to clear it. That plumber files a report with DC Water if the blockage is in the public portion. See sewer lateral repair for what happens when the line fails.
Why it matters when something breaks
A leak on your side of the meter is billed to you, including the water that escaped. A backup caused by a clog in your lateral is cleaned up at your cost. Cleanup after a DC backup usually falls to the owner, though a claim line exists at 202-787-2052. Standard homeowners policies often leave out lateral failures, and Fairfax County says water backup coverage for the interior is a separate add-on. Read your policy before you need it, and see basement backups for the first hour.
Lead matters here too. The privately owned side of a service line is the part most likely to still be old pipe, and who pays to replace it depends on the program. Lead service lines explains the split.
Check your own address
- Find your latest water bill and read the name at the top: DC Water, Fairfax Water, Virginia American Water, Arlington County or a Town.
- Look at the tax record for the property to confirm the jurisdiction, not the mailing city.
- Locate the meter. Everything after it, toward the house, is yours in the Fairfax Water, Arlington, Vienna and Herndon descriptions above.
- Ask the sewer authority in writing for the date your lateral was installed and the exact point where the city stops.
- Before any digging, call 811 and let a licensed contractor do the work. Do not dig a lateral yourself.
Survey notes: sources for this page
- DC Water: sewer backup. Opened November 3, 2026.
- DC Water design manual, linear infrastructure. Known to us only from a search listing of the page.
- Arlington County: water service line inventory. Known to us only from a search listing of the page; the site would not open for us.
- Arlington County: sewer. Known to us only from a search listing of the page; the site would not open for us.
- Alexandria: sewer and hydrant maintenance. Opened November 3, 2026.
- Virginia American Water: rights and responsibilities. Known to us only from a search listing of the page.
- Fairfax Water: meter shop. Known to us only from a search listing of the page; the site would not open for us.
- Fairfax County: residential wastewater. Opened November 3, 2026.
- Town of Vienna: owner agreement. Known to us only from a search listing of the page.
- Town of Herndon: water and sewer. Known to us only from a search listing of the page.
- City of Fairfax: wastewater lateral repair program. Known to us only from a search listing of the page.