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NoVA & DC Plumbing Map

Sheet 7 of 18 · Arlington County

South Arlington: meters, laterals and attached homes

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In South Arlington the county delivers water treated at Dalecarlia and owns the line to the meter; past it you own the pipe, the lateral too, and attached homes should ask before assuming who can pull a permit.

Sheet revised November 3, 2026 · who makes this map

Two-story red brick garden-style homes at Fairlington
Brick homes at Fairlington, South Arlington.
Who does what here
WaterCounty line ends at the meter; the rest is yours source
SewerPremises owner owns the lateral; county main source
PermitsArlington plumbing and gas permit source
LicensingVirginia DPOR source
Lead pipesCounty inventory, 2024 source

Where the water comes from

Arlington's water comes from the Potomac, treated at Dalecarlia by the Washington Aqueduct, which the Army Corps runs. The county's page names one exception, the Willston area, covered on the North Arlington sheet. If the name on your water bill isn't Arlington County, ask the county which supplier serves your lot. For the wider rules on where a supplier's pipe ends, see who owns which pipe.

Brick-paved Campbell Avenue with trees and restaurant awnings at Shirlington
Campbell Avenue at The Village at Shirlington.

Shirlington and Fairlington

This sheet takes in Shirlington's newer buildings and Fairlington's brick attached homes, among others. Attached homes raise questions a detached house doesn't: who owns a shared line, and who answers for a pipe that serves more than one home. We have no county rule on that to quote, so your deed, your association's documents and a licensed plumber's look at the actual pipe are where to start. Ask before you assume the line is yours alone.

The meter split, here

The county maintains the line from the main to the meter. You maintain it from there to the building, along with the plumbing inside, and you bear the cost of any leaked water. Condo and apartment owners have a separate question: neighboring Fairfax County treats those buildings as commercial for permits, and we could not confirm Arlington's rule, so ask before assuming a unit owner can pull one.

Lateral, lead and permits

Sewer laterals belong to the owner of the premises under county code, and the county clears its own main free. Call 703-228-6555. On lead, the county's 2024 inventory of its own pipes came back clean. The line on your side of the meter is yours to check with a licensed plumber, and the county's page puts August 1, 1978 as the line for older houses. Permits for adding or moving fixtures and piping go through Permit Arlington; see permits by place.

What the map can't tell you

  • Who supplies your lot, if the name on your bill isn't the county's.
  • Whether a pipe serving your home also serves a neighbor's.
  • Whether a condo unit can pull its own permit in Arlington.
  • Whether any local historic district applies; we could not confirm it from the county's pages.

Check your own address

  1. Read the supplier's name on your last water bill.
  2. Call the county at 703-228-6555 if you cannot tell.
  3. Find your meter and the shutoff, and compare with the North Arlington sheet.
  4. Search the DPOR license lookup for the plumber before work starts.
  5. Call 811 before any digging.

More on checking an address

Survey notes: sources for this page