Key Takeaway
In most of the Portland metro, the water provider owns the pipe from the main in the street to the meter, and the homeowner owns the service line from the meter to the house. Tualatin Valley Water District puts it plainly: it owns the portion from the main to the meter, and you own the portion from the meter to your home. So a leak on your side of the meter is your repair. To tell whether a leak is outside, shut the main valve inside the house and watch the meter for 20 to 30 minutes. If it still moves, the leak is between the meter and the house. SKS Plumbing is open 7 days, 8am to 9pm. Call (503) 319-9348.
In most of the Portland metro, the pipe from the water meter to your house belongs to you, not the water district. If it leaks, cracks or loses pressure, the repair is the homeowner's to arrange and pay for, while the provider looks after everything from the street main up to the meter.
That split surprises a lot of people, usually on the day water starts pooling in the front yard. Here is how the line is divided, how to tell which side a leak is on, and what fixing it actually involves.
Where Your Responsibility Starts
Every house connects to the public system through a service line: a smaller pipe that runs from the water main under the street, through the meter, and into the house. The meter is the dividing point.
Tualatin Valley Water District (TVWD), based in Beaverton, states it directly: "TVWD owns the portion of the service line from the water main to the meter. You own the portion of the service line from the meter to your home or business." (TVWD Service Line Inventory)
Other providers around Hillsboro, Beaverton and Tigard set their own rules, and the details can differ. The provider named on your water bill is the one whose rules apply to your address. Before you call anyone, find the bill and confirm who that is.
Is the Leak Inside or Outside?
Before anyone digs, find out which side of the house the leak is on. TVWD's leak guidance lays out a simple test using the meter itself:
- 1Shut off the main water valve to the inside of your house.
- 2Lift the meter cover and note the position of the sweep hand, or mark it on the lens.
- 3Wait 20 to 30 minutes and check the sweep hand again. You can also check the small flow indicator to see if it is turning.
TVWD's conclusion is clear-cut: "If the meter has moved when the water is shut off to the house, you have a leak somewhere outside of the house. If the meter has not moved when the water to the house is shut off, your leak is somewhere inside the house." (TVWD, Locate a Leak)
If the meter holds still, the problem is indoors, and our guide to finding a hidden water leak is the next step. If the meter keeps moving with the house shut off, the leak is on the service line you own.
If you do not know where your main valve is, find it now rather than during a leak. We walk through it in how to shut off your main water valve.
Signs the Service Line Is the Problem
The meter test is the proof, but these are the signs that usually prompt it:
- Low pressure at every fixture at once, not just one tap.
- A wet or soft patch between the meter and the house that does not dry out between rains.
- A water bill that climbs without any change in how the household uses water.
- No water at all while the neighbours still have service.
- Dampness or corrosion where the line comes through the foundation.
In Hillsboro, the second sign is less reliable than people expect. From autumn through spring the ground is saturated anyway, so a leaking line can run for months without leaving a mark on the lawn. That is why the meter test matters more here than looking at the yard.
What the Line Is Made Of
The material of the pipe on your side of the meter matters, because some materials fail faster than others.
On the provider side, TVWD reports that "none of our 62,067 service lines are made of lead or are of unknown material" and that "Copper is the primary service line material in our system." That inventory covers the provider's pipes, not necessarily the section you own.
Homes around Hillsboro, Forest Grove and North Plains can still have original galvanized steel on the homeowner side, especially in older neighbourhoods. Galvanized pipe corrodes from the inside, and the Tualatin Valley's wet clay soils are hard on it from the outside. If your line is galvanized and has already leaked once, expect more leaks to follow.
Repair or Replace?
Once a leak is confirmed on your side of the meter, there are two routes.
Spot repair. If the line is in reasonable shape and the failure is in one place, we locate it, excavate that section, cut out the damaged pipe and splice in new pipe. On an accessible section this is typically a half-day job.
Full replacement. If the line is old galvanized, has leaked more than once, or is corroded along its length, replacing it from the meter to the house is the better long-term answer. We dig a trench from the meter to where the line enters the house, install new copper or HDPE pipe to suit local code and soil conditions, pressure test it, backfill and restore the surface. A typical 30 to 60 foot residential run takes one to two days. Lines under driveways or walkways take longer and cost more to restore.
Either way, the work stops at the meter. Anything on the street side goes back to the water provider.
What to Do Right Now
If water is actively surfacing near the meter box, call your water provider first, because it may be their side. If the meter test points to your side, shut the main valve to stop the loss until the line can be repaired.
SKS Plumbing handles water main line repair and replacement on the homeowner side of the meter across Hillsboro, Beaverton, Forest Grove, North Plains and the rest of Washington County. When the source is not yet clear, leak detection and repair comes first, so only one section of yard gets opened. We are open seven days a week, 8am to 9pm. Call (503) 319-9348 with your meter test result, or get in touch here.
Frequently Asked Questions
In most Portland-area water systems the homeowner is. Tualatin Valley Water District, for example, states that it owns the portion of the service line from the water main to the meter, and the customer owns the portion from the meter to the home or business. Other providers set their own rules, so check with the provider named on your water bill.
Only if the leak is on their side of the meter. A leak between the street main and the meter belongs to the water provider, and it is worth calling them first if water is surfacing near the meter box. A leak between the meter and your house is on the homeowner side and needs a plumber.
Shut off the main water valve inside the house, then lift the meter lid and note the position of the sweep hand or leak indicator. Wait 20 to 30 minutes. If the meter has moved while the house is shut off, the leak is outside, somewhere between the meter and the house. If it has not moved, the leak is inside.
It depends entirely on the policy. Some policies exclude underground service lines or offer them only as an add-on. Call your insurer before work starts and ask specifically about the water service line from the meter to the house.
For a typical residential line of 30 to 60 feet, SKS Plumbing usually completes a full replacement in one to two days, including excavation, the new pipe, a pressure test, backfill and surface restoration. A spot repair on an accessible section is often done in half a day.