Water Line Repair & Replacement in High Point, NC
A leak between the meter and your house wastes water you pay for and can undermine a driveway or yard. Locate it, then fix it with the least digging possible.
- Meter-to-house service lines
- Trenchless options
- Leak location first
- Free estimates
The Water Service Line: From The Meter To Your House
The water service line is the buried pipe that carries city water from the meter to your house. Inside the house, supply lines are a different system, covered under repiping service. A leak of one gallon a minute in the buried line wastes 1,440 gallons a day.
Customers generally own the pipe on their side of the meter, while the utility owns the meter and the main. Confirm the boundary with City of High Point Public Services before digging.
A service line leak is easy to confuse with an in-house leak. A simple test separates them: close the main valve at the house and watch the meter. If it keeps moving, the leak is outside, in the buried line.
Signs Of A Failing Water Service Line
Wet or soft patch in the yard
Water surfacing along the line route.
Meter spins with the main closed
Water is escaping between the meter and the shutoff.
Low pressure at every tap
A large leak or restriction upstream.
Higher bills with no change in use
A small leak that never stops.
Discolored or gritty water
Corroding galvanized pipe sheds rust.
Sinkholes or cracked pavement
Washed-out soil over a long-running leak.
Meter Spinning With The Main Closed?
Call and describe where the line enters the house. A locate tool narrows the dig.
Ways To Repair Or Replace A Service Line
How much digging is needed depends on the pipe, the depth and what sits above it.
| Method | When it fits | Trade-offs |
|---|---|---|
| Spot repair | One leak at a known point | Small excavation, but the rest of an old line remains |
| Trenchless pipe bursting | A full line in poor condition, with clear ends | Little surface disruption, needs entry and exit pits |
| Open-trench replacement | Short runs or lines with many obstacles | Fully visible work, more restoration afterward |
| Re-route | A line under a building or driveway | New path chosen to avoid the obstacle |
What Service Lines Are Made Of
Older High Point houses may have galvanized steel service lines, which rust from the inside and slowly choke the flow. Copper is common in mid-century homes. Newer houses typically use polyethylene or PEX. A line built of one material is often joined to another at the meter or the house, and those joints are frequent failure points.
Federal rules required water utilities to inventory the material of service lines by October 2024, in part to find lead pipe. Ask City Public Services whether your line is on that inventory, and if you have any doubt about lead, have a plumber identify the material.
What To Do Before Anyone Digs
Buried utilities make a careless dig dangerous and expensive.
- 1
Call 811, the NC811 service, a few days before any digging so gas, power and communications lines can be marked.
- 2
Find your meter box and main shutoff valve, and clear access to them.
- 3
Do not dig near the suspected leak yourself, because saturated ground can collapse.
- 4
Mark where you noticed wet soil, a sinkhole or a dead patch of grass.
- 5
Keep children and pets away from any open trench.
How A Service Line Job Goes
- 1
Locate
A plumber traces the line and pinpoints the leak or the failed section.
- 2
Mark and call
Buried utilities are marked through NC811 before any digging.
- 3
Repair or replace
The agreed method is carried out, with the water off only as long as necessary.
- 4
Test and restore
Pressure is checked and the ground is backfilled.
What Digging Looks Like In This Area
The Piedmont's red clay compacts hard in dry weather and turns slick in wet, and mature trees along older streets such as those in Emerywood send roots across service line routes. In the older Uptown Suburbs, the line may cross a historic streetscape that you do not want torn up, which is a good reason to ask about trenchless replacement.
Pressure matters as well. A pressure reducing valve near the house protects fixtures from the city's supply pressure, and a failed valve can add stress to an old line. Ask the plumber to read the pressure at an outdoor spigot before and after any service line work.
What Affects Water Line Repair Cost
Free estimates for replacement work
Repairs are priced after the leak is located. Replacement quotes come before any digging. Call for your real number.
Standard homeowners policies often exclude service line wear. Some insurers sell a service line endorsement.
If The Line Is Not The Problem
When the meter test shows the leak is inside the house, hidden leak detection comes next. A flooded crawlspace or wet yard from a failed line may need water damage restoration. Service line repair is available in Thomasville and the other nearby towns.
Water Line Questions In High Point
Customers generally own the pipe on their side of the meter, and the utility owns the meter and main. Confirm the exact boundary with City of High Point Public Services.
Close the main valve at the house and watch the meter. If it keeps moving, the leak is in the buried line before the shutoff.
Often, with trenchless pipe bursting. It needs entry and exit pits at the ends of the line but leaves the ground between largely undisturbed.
Scratch the pipe near the main shutoff. Galvanized steel is gray and attracts a magnet. Copper is reddish brown, and plastic is easy to identify. A plumber can confirm.
Yes, since the meter counts water leaking past it. A bill that climbs for no clear reason is a common first sign.
Think the service line is leaking? Call now.
Call (336) 453-0472Yard Wet Or Pressure Low?
Call about water line repair and replacement in High Point, Jamestown, Archdale, Trinity, Thomasville, Randleman and Greensboro.
Call (336) 453-0472