Plumbers in Watertown, MA

Call DPW before a plumber: the sewer lateral rule

Watertown spells out the sequence in its water and sewer FAQ. When a sewer backs up, the city asks residents to call DPW before calling a plumber; the department will check the main sewer and say whether the blockage is the city's or yours. If the main is running clear, the trouble is in your service lateral, and property owners are responsible for their laterals.

The same FAQ names the usual culprits in private lines: old pipes giving way at deteriorated joints, and tree roots getting in. A camera inspection tells you which you're dealing with; see sewer line repair for the fixes, from cleaning to full replacement.

Watch the clock, though. The DPW number (617-972-6420) is answered weekdays from 7:00 to 3:30. Outside those hours it forwards to 311, which is staffed weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. (until 7 p.m. on Tuesdays), and after that to a voicemail returned the next business day. For anything needing immediate help, the city says to call 911. You can reach 311 by dialing 3-1-1 in Watertown, by calling or texting 617-458-8311, or at [email protected].

Two-family houses and the backwater valve requirement

Two-unit buildings are the largest category of housing in Watertown, holding 34.7% of its 17,206 units. Detached single-family houses account for 17.2%, attached single-family homes 10.3%, and buildings of three to four units just 7.9%, while 14.7% are in big buildings with at least 50 units. The Census median year built is 1947, with 44.4% of units from 1939 or earlier. Newer housing has arrived too, including 425 residences at Arsenal Yards, the mixed-use project on the site of the old Arsenal Mall at 485 Arsenal Street.

Two-families bring a local question of their own: the city's FAQ covers splitting the water service on a two-family house, and on multi-family houses of up to four units. If you're considering giving each unit its own service, read that entry and talk to DPW before you hire anyone.

Watertown also requires backwater valves, at the owner's expense, on every existing or new building drain from fixtures liable to backflow from a DPW sewer, meaning fixtures below the top of the manhole on the sewer that serves the building. For basement floor drains, the FAQ recommends a back-flow valve or a test plug. Storm runoff has its own network of about 80 miles of drains, and the city's inflow and infiltration program aims to keep clean water out of the sanitary pipes, so sump pumps, foundation drains and gutters should not be tied into the sewer.

Lead goosenecks and other DPW details

City records show no water services in Watertown made entirely of lead pipe. The catch is the lead gooseneck, a short connector about two feet long that was often used to join older iron services to the water main. With about 9,250 services on record, the city takes goosenecks out every year during road reconstruction, water system work and leak repairs, and new development or significant redevelopment must remove any lead services involved. The service line inventory, submitted to MassDEP and the EPA in October 2024, can be viewed at DPW, 124 Orchard Street. There's more on lead in older water connections in our guide.

Two DPW procedures are worth knowing before a plumber arrives. To have the water turned off or back on for a repair, give the Water Supervisor at least 24 hours' notice at 617-972-6420, option 3. For a new irrigation meter, the plumber pulls a permit through the Building Department, then the owner applies to DPW; the meter fee is $200.