Plumber in The Woodlands, TX: water agency, inspections and hiring

The Woodlands is not a city. It is governed by The Woodlands Township, a special-purpose district the Texas Legislature created in 1993, and residents voted against incorporation in a November 2021 referendum, according to its Wikipedia entry. It lies mainly in Montgomery County, with a small part in Harris County.

Water and sewer are handled by Woodlands Water, the Woodlands Water Agency, at 2455 Lake Robbins Drive. Its site lists The Woodlands MUD No. 1, Montgomery County MUD Nos. 6, 7, 36, 39, 46, 47, 60 and 67, and The Woodlands Metro Center MUD, and it has a Find Your MUD tool that matches your street address to a district. The agency says boundaries in the tool are approximate. For water emergencies, during business hours or after hours, Woodlands Water lists 855-426-7283.

There is no city building department. Three different bodies can be involved, depending on the job:

The Township's permitting process page is a deed restriction review, not a building code review. It says some properties in Cantwell Forest, Avalon Oaks and Dulcimer Woods fall under the dual authority of the Township and the City of Shenandoah, and that Shenandoah handles plumbing items there.

The agency's Fee Schedule A for FY 2026-2027 lists these residential items:

• Customer service inspection, single-family: $75; re-inspection $50.
• Residential application review: $500 for a new home or rebuild, $250 for redevelopment.
• Irrigation system review and permit: $125. Swimming pool review and permit: $100.
• Starting residential construction before permitting: $500. Failure to submit a backflow test: $250.

The customer service inspection is the TCEQ check, recorded on Form 20699, that private plumbing has no cross-connections and meets lead limits. Woodlands Water also says backflow assemblies must be tested when installed, replaced, repaired or relocated, should be tested annually, and may be tested only by registered testers who file results online.

Yes, in limited cases. Its TV sewer line inspection is a free courtesy service for property owners with an active sewer problem such as a blockage. A technician runs a camera from your cleanout to the main; you must know where the cleanout is. Staff do not enter the home, give no written report and do not offer the service for real estate transactions. It can be a useful step before you pay for a sewer line repair.

Census Bureau survey data for 2020 to 2024 count about 46,800 housing units, with a median year built of 2000. About 26 percent were built in the 1990s and 17 percent in the 1980s; under 2 percent predate 1970 (ACS tables B25034 and B25035). Very old pipe is rare here; water heaters, under-slab leaks and original sewer laterals are the more likely questions.

Texas licenses plumbers at the state level, through the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners (TSBPE). Under Texas Occupations Code 1301.351, a person other than a responsible master plumber may not do plumbing unless they hold the proper license, registration or endorsement and their work is supervised by a license holder. Anyone who advertises plumbing must secure a responsible master plumber, and license holders must carry the license on them while working. That rule applies the same way in The Woodlands as everywhere else in Texas.

1. Ask for the name and license number of the person doing or supervising the work, not just the company name.
2. Search it in the Texas plumbing license search, by name or license number.
3. Confirm the status is active and the license type fits the job.
4. Get a written estimate that lists the scope, materials and price before work starts.

Homeowners have one exemption: Section 1301.051 says a property owner does not need a plumbing license to do plumbing in their own homestead. Someone you hire, including a handyman, is not covered by it. Our guide to choosing a plumber covers estimates, payment and warning signs in more detail.

This site is an independent homeowner guide. We are not a contractor, we do not perform plumbing work and we do not answer phones. To reach a plumber, call one of the licensed contractors listed on this page or see all listed contractors. Questions about this guide: email us. We do not take service requests. Run the license checks above on anyone you hire, including the contractors listed on this page. If water is actively spreading, start with our emergency steps first.