Three different jobs get called "water line replacement," and they are not close in price. Here is what each one costs, what moves the figure, and how to tell which one your house needs.
How much does it cost to replace a water line?
Most full water service replacements — the whole run from the meter to the house — land between $6,000 and $16,000 in the Seattle area. A spot repair on a service line that is otherwise sound usually runs $2,000 to $6,000. A localized repair on a failed section inside a crawlspace is typically $650 to $1,000.
Long runs, deep lines, and anything that has to cross a street rather than a lawn push past the top of that range. If someone quotes you a single number before locating the failure, they are guessing.
What actually moves the price?
Five things, in roughly this order: the length of the run from the meter to the house, how deep the line sits, whether it crosses a driveway or the street, what permits the job needs, and how much surface has to be restored afterwards.
Should I repair the line or replace the whole run?
Repair when this is the first failure and the rest of the line is sound. Replace when you have had a second leak on the same run, or when the pipe material itself is the problem — galvanized steel and polybutylene fail on a schedule, and patching them buys months, not years.
The honest test is whether the failure was mechanical or systemic. A rock that wore through one spot is a repair. A line corroding from the inside along its whole length is a replacement, and paying twice to learn that is the expensive way.
How do I know my water line is failing?
The clearest sign is a meter that turns with every fixture in the house shut off. After that: a water bill that climbed with no change in habits, pressure that dropped everywhere at once rather than at one tap, a wet or unusually green patch in the yard, or a damp crawlspace.
How long does the work take?
A localized repair is usually a same-day job. A full service line replacement from the meter to the house is typically a single working day, with the water back on the same afternoon. Permit review and utility locates happen before that day, not during it.
Will you have to dig up my yard and driveway?
Not with trenchless. We bore a path beneath the surface from the meter to the house and pull the new line through, so the only excavation is two small access pits at either end. Lawns, driveways, front walks and established beds stay where they are.
Open-trench replacement is still the right answer on some jobs — very short runs, or lines that are shallow and unobstructed. We will tell you which one your property calls for.
What is the new line made of?
Polyethylene, in almost every case. It is corrosion-resistant, comes in a continuous roll with no joints to fail along the run, and is what makes trenchless pulling possible in the first place. Copper still has its place for shorter sections and inside repairs.
Who owns the part of the line under the street?
On the water side, the utility owns the main and the meter, and you own everything from the meter to the house — which usually includes the stretch under your planting strip. Sewer is different: in Seattle the side sewer is yours for its entire length, all the way to the connection at the city main.
Does this work need a permit?
It depends on your city and whether the work reaches into the right-of-way. In Seattle, side sewer work needs an SDCI permit filed through the Seattle Services Portal, plus a separate SDOT permit for right-of-way work. In Bellevue, a repair permit cannot cover the right-of-way at all — that needs its own Right of Way Use Permit.
We pull the permits our jobs require and schedule the inspections. Work that gets buried without one becomes the homeowner's problem at the next sale.
Get a Real Number for Your Line
We locate the failure before pricing the work, and quote the repair and the replacement side by side. Call 425-245-7552 for a free estimate, or request a callback.
Related: main water line repair · trenchless water line replacement · water line repair in Lynnwood · plumbers in Seattle · plumbers in Bellevue