A slab leak in Bonita is a water supply line leaking in or under a home's concrete foundation, usually noticed as a meter that keeps turning, a warm spot in the floor or an unexplained bill. Sweetwater Authority supplies Bonita, and the plumbing on the house side of the meter is the owner's. Call the number on this page to be connected with a local plumber in Bonita.
How old is the plumbing in a typical Bonita home?
Older than in much of the South Bay. Bonita's median home was built around 1975, so many houses still have original supply piping. In a slab house, copper that has sat against gravel and concrete for that long tends to develop pinholes at rub points, and joints made during construction can give way after decades of pressure changes. Some homes of that era sit on raised foundations instead, where a leak drips into the crawl space and is easier to reach. Knowing which kind of house you have is the first thing a plumber will ask.
Is Sweetwater's water to blame?
Sweetwater Authority blends local surface water, fresh and brackish groundwater treated by reverse osmosis, and imported water, and it uses chloramine as a disinfectant. Its report lists total hardness of 94 to 300 ppm as calcium carbonate, averaging 196. That mineral content shows up as scale in water heaters and fixtures, but the report doesn't link it to pipe failures under floors. Sweetwater's lead service line inventory found no lead or galvanized service lines requiring replacement, including customer-owned lines. That covers the line to the house, not the piping in your slab.
Who do I call, and do I need a permit?
If water is coming up near the meter or in the street, call Sweetwater Authority at (619) 420-1413, which is also its after-hours emergency number. If the meter moves but the yard and curb are dry, the leak is on your side and a plumber should find it. Permit rules depend on which jurisdiction covers your address, so confirm with the building department for your address before a reroute or pipe replacement; the plumber can help with that.
A Bonita note
When a house from the 1970s has one slab leak, another often follows, because the rest of the buried copper is the same age. If yours has already been repaired once, ask about pressure testing the remaining lines and pricing a reroute alongside the spot repair. Seeing both numbers side by side makes it easier to decide whether to patch once more or retire the buried line for good.
Slab Leak Repair questions in Bonita
Water is coming up near the meter or the street. Who do I call?
Does hard water cause slab leaks?
Does fixing a slab leak here require a permit?
Does chloramine in the water eat through pipes under the slab?
More plumbing services in Bonita
Slab Leak Repair nearby
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