Plumbing guides for communities across the Houston metro

The pages below cover eight communities around Houston. Each one is written from official local sources and explains the same practical questions: who your water and sewer provider is, who issues permits, which local conditions matter for plumbing, and how to verify a plumber before work starts.

• Cypress: who provides water and sewer service, which office issues plumbing permits, local housing and soil factors that affect plumbing, and how to check a plumber who works there.
• Humble: who provides water and sewer service, which office issues plumbing permits, local housing and soil factors that affect plumbing, and how to check a plumber who works there.
• Katy: who provides water and sewer service, which office issues plumbing permits, local housing and soil factors that affect plumbing, and how to check a plumber who works there.
• Pasadena: who provides water and sewer service, which office issues plumbing permits, local housing and soil factors that affect plumbing, and how to check a plumber who works there.
• Pearland: who provides water and sewer service, which office issues plumbing permits, local housing and soil factors that affect plumbing, and how to check a plumber who works there.
• Spring: who provides water and sewer service, which office issues plumbing permits, local housing and soil factors that affect plumbing, and how to check a plumber who works there.
• Sugar Land: who provides water and sewer service, which office issues plumbing permits, local housing and soil factors that affect plumbing, and how to check a plumber who works there.
• The Woodlands: who provides water and sewer service, which office issues plumbing permits, local housing and soil factors that affect plumbing, and how to check a plumber who works there.

If your community is not listed, the general guides on this site still apply. Texas licensing is statewide, and the cost ranges come from national guides.

Three things change when you cross a city line or move into an unincorporated area.

Who issues the plumbing permit

Texas law makes cities regulate plumbing. Section 1301.551 of the Texas Occupations Code says a municipality with more than 5,000 inhabitants must regulate plumbing by ordinance and require permits, with exemptions for leak repairs and like-for-like replacement of faucets, toilets, ballcocks and garbage disposals. Inside the City of Houston, the Houston Permitting Center issues those permits, and for a water heater the permit must be obtained by a master plumber registered with the city. Incorporated suburbs run their own permit offices, fee schedules and inspections. Each location page explains which office applies there.

Who supplies your water and takes your sewage

In the City of Houston, Houston Public Works runs both. Outside it, service often comes from another city or from a water district. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality explains that a water district is a local government entity that provides limited services, and lists municipal utility districts (MUDs), water control and improvement districts, special utility districts and river authorities as examples. According to TCEQ's general guide to water districts, MUDs provide water, wastewater, drainage and other services within their boundaries, and questions or complaints about a district bill go to the district first. TCEQ also offers a water districts map so you can find yours. Your provider decides who answers a sewer backup at the street and which emergency number to call.

Who owns which pipe

In the City of Houston, Houston Public Works says the city owns the water service line from the main to the meter, and the property owner owns the line from the meter into the building. On the sewer side, Houston Public Works says private wastewater pipes closer to the home are the homeowner's responsibility, and the cleanout marks the limit of the public system. Other providers set their own rules, so check before you assume the utility will pay.

• The plumber's license. All plumbers in Texas are licensed by the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners, and you can check any plumber in the Texas plumbing license search by name, license number, city or county.
• The Responsible Master Plumber. Section 1301.351 of the Occupations Code says anyone who advertises or offers plumbing services must use a Responsible Master Plumber.
• The homestead rule. Section 1301.051 lets a property owner do plumbing in their own homestead without a license, though local permits and inspections still apply.

Start with your community's page to find the right utility and permit office. Then read the matching service guide for costs and questions to ask, and the homeowner guides for deeper topics such as slab leaks in clay soil or sewer backups during storms. To reach a plumber, call one of the licensed contractors listed on this page or see all listed contractors. Questions about this guide or a correction: email hello@plumberhoustonpros.com. We do not take service requests and do not pass messages on to contractors. We are an information site, not a contractor, and we do not send anyone to your home.