Plumber in Tualatin, OR: water, lead testing and permits

Tualatin's housing is relatively young. Census Bureau survey data for 2020 to 2024 put the median year built at 1992; about 26 percent of homes were built before 1980, only about 2 percent before 1960 and about 25 percent in 2000 or later (ACS table B25034 via Census Reporter). The houses that call for the most attention are those built or plumbed in the 1970s and early 1980s, when copper pipe was joined with lead-based solder.

The city's water division page says Tualatin buys treated water from the City of Portland, which travels about 50 miles of pipe from the Bull Run Watershed in the Mount Hood National Forest. The division serves nearly 60,000 people, residents and workers, and the system uses about 4.8 million gallons a day on average. Because the water is Portland's, Portland's corrosion control treatment also applies to Tualatin's supply.

The city's lead and copper testing page reports that a 2024 Lead Service Line Inventory found zero lead service lines in its system. Lead in tap water mainly comes from home plumbing such as lead solder or leaded brass fixtures, and the city says homes built or plumbed between 1970 and 1985 are at the highest risk. Its advice:

• If water has sat for several hours, run each tap for 30 seconds to 2 minutes, or until it turns colder, before drinking or cooking.
• Use cold water for cooking and baby formula, never the hot tap.
• Clean faucet aerators every few months to remove trapped particles.
• When replacing fixtures, note that since January 2014 pipes, fittings and fixtures must contain less than 0.25 percent lead.

Residents can request a free in-home lead test kit through the Portland Water Bureau at portland.gov/water/LeadTest. If a test comes back high, replacing old faucets or a section of soldered pipe is often a modest plumbing job compared with a full repipe.

According to the city's sanitary sewer page, Tualatin's sewage is pumped to the Durham wastewater facility operated by Clean Water Services (CWS), and 11 lift stations in the city are maintained by CWS. The page states that the property owner is responsible for maintaining the lateral, and warns that grease poured down drains cools and builds up by the time it reaches the lateral. If you see liquid flowing out of a manhole, the city asks you to stay away and call Public Works at 503-691-3091.

CWS's lateral repairs fact sheet adds that CWS repairs structural defects, including root intrusion, in the part of a lateral inside the public right of way, after reviewing a camera video. Our tree roots guide explains what that video should show.

The Building Division FAQ says permits are required for new construction, alterations and additions, including plumbing work, and that the property owner is ultimately responsible for obtaining permits, though a contractor can apply on the owner's behalf. Two points come up often:

Annual backflow test reports are submitted online through the city's EcosConnect system by your testing company.

Oregon splits plumbing licensing between two agencies. The Construction Contractors Board (CCB) licenses the business, and the Building Codes Division (BCD) licenses plumbing contractors and individual journeyman plumbers. Run both checks before you sign anything:

1. Search the company in the CCB license search and confirm the license is active.
2. Search the company and the person doing the work in the BCD license holder search.
3. Ask who pulls the plumbing permit, and get the permit number before work starts.

Our guide to choosing a plumber explains the two licenses in more detail, and the Portland plumber cost guide helps you judge a quote.

This site is an independent guide, not a contractor. We do not perform plumbing work and 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. If water is actively leaking, shut off the main valve first and see our emergency plumber guide.