Water Service Line Repair & Replacement in Overland Park, KS
The water service line is the buried pipe that runs from your meter, usually in a pit near the street, to the house. When it leaks you may see a soggy strip of lawn, hear water running at the main shutoff, lose pressure, or just get a bigger bill. We find the problem, repair it where that makes sense, and replace the line when it doesn’t.
Local Overland Park plumber · Open 7 days, 7 AM–8 PM
Signs your water service line is failing
- Wet, sunken or unusually green ground between the meter pit and the house
- Low pressure throughout the house that isn’t explained by the pressure-reducing valve
- Usage that stays high overnight, or a bill jump with no change in habits
- Hissing at the main shutoff when no water is running
- Discolored water at every fixture (on older metal lines)
Who owns which part
WaterOne owns and maintains the utility side of the service line; the private section from the water meter to the residence is the customer’s to repair and maintain (WaterOne: Service Lines). In Olathe, the city’s water service line runs from the main to and including the meter, and the line from the meter to the house is the homeowner’s, which the city does not locate (City of Olathe). WaterOne notes that many homeowners’ insurance policies don’t cover water line repairs, so check your policy.
Sources: WaterOne: Service Lines; City of Olathe: Utility Location Services. Checked October 2026.
What is my line made of?
WaterOne says copper and plastic are the most common service line materials in the region. It also notes it has no record of lead utility service lines in its system and that lead wasn’t commonly used for private lines here. Quick checks from WaterOne’s guidance (source):
- Copper: orange-brown, shiny when scratched; a magnet won’t stick
- Plastic (PVC, HDPE, PEX and similar): common in newer homes
- Galvanized steel: gray, a magnet sticks; found in older properties and prone to corrosion and low pressure
- Lead: dull gray, soft, scratches easily, magnet won’t stick. Rare here, but call your water provider if you suspect it
Source: WaterOne: Service Lines. Checked October 2026.
Talk to a plumber about water service line repair & replacement
Call (913) 379-3324 or book online. Open 7 days, 7 AM–8 PM.
Repair or replace?
A single leak on an otherwise healthy line, such as a failed fitting or a puncture from digging, can usually be repaired by exposing that spot. Replacement makes more sense when the line is old galvanized steel, has leaked more than once, is undersized for the house, or is too shallow and has frozen.
Replacement is done by open trench or, where conditions allow, by boring or pulling a new line with less digging.
Depth, frost and the code
Overland Park’s 2024 plumbing code amendments set the local frost line at 36 inches and require exterior water supply piping to be at least 6 inches below it, so a new service line goes in at 42 inches or deeper. Replacing pipe is permitted work, so the job needs a permit and inspection (Ordinance BC-3499). Before anyone digs, Kansas One-Call (811) has public utilities marked. Your private water line generally isn’t marked, so knowing roughly where it runs helps.
The same ordinance requires anyone pulling a permit to hold a current Johnson County contractor’s license. The one exception is a homeowner who lives in (or will live in) a single-family home and does the work personally. You can check any contractor on the county’s licensed contractor search.
Sources: Overland Park Ordinance BC-3499 (2024 International Codes, effective July 1, 2026); City of Olathe: Utility Location Services; Johnson County: search for licensed contractors. Checked October 2026.
What affects the cost
- Length and depth of the run from the meter to the house
- Repair of one spot vs full replacement
- What’s on top: driveway, sidewalk, landscaping, trees
- Connection at the meter and at the house main
- Permit and inspection
How it works
- Call or book. We help you stop the water first if needed, then give you an arrival window.
- Diagnose. We find the actual cause and show you what we found.
- Options before work. Repair vs replace, explained plainly. Nothing starts until you say go.
- Fixed to code. Permit and inspection handled where required, and the work area left clean.
Water Service Line Repair & Replacement: common questions
Is the water line from the meter to my house my responsibility?
Yes. WaterOne and the City of Olathe both treat the line from the meter to the house as the customer’s. They maintain the main and the meter.
How deep does a water line need to be in Overland Park?
Overland Park sets the frost line at 36 inches and requires exterior water piping at least 6 inches below it.
Do I need a permit to replace my water service line?
Yes. Replacing pipe is outside Overland Park’s short list of permit-free repairs, so it needs a permit and inspection.
Will 811 mark my water line?
Usually not the private part. 811 notifies public utilities; Olathe, for example, states that it does not locate the line from the meter to the house.
Does insurance cover a broken water line?
Often not. WaterOne notes that many homeowners’ policies don’t cover water line repairs; some insurers and third parties sell service-line coverage.
Available in
- Overland Park: our home base in south OP.
- Olathe: City of Olathe or WaterOne: either way the line from the meter to the house is yours.
- Lenexa: WaterOne-served Lenexa: repairs and replacements from the meter pit to the house.
- Stilwell: Where homes are on a rural water district or a well, the rules and the lines are different.
Guides for homeowners
- Winterize Your Plumbing: A Johnson County Fall Checklist: What to do in October and November so a January cold snap doesn’t become a burst pipe.
Related services
- Leak Detection & Repair: Find hidden supply and drain leaks before they become ceiling, floor or slab damage.
- Repiping (PEX & Copper): Partial and whole-house repipes when leaks keep coming back.
- Frozen & Burst Pipe Repair: Thawing frozen lines, repairing bursts and fixing the spots that keep freezing.
- Sewer Line Repair & Replacement: Camera-verified diagnosis and repair of broken, root-filled or sagging sewer lines.
Get help with water service line repair & replacement
Call (913) 379-3324 or book online. Open 7 days, 7 AM–8 PM.