Water heater repair in Lafayette, LA

Chicot aquifer water from LUS

Lafayette Utilities System, owned by Lafayette Consolidated Government, draws its drinking water from deep wells in the Chicot aquifer, the large system of sands and gravels beneath southwest Louisiana. Raw well water goes to LUS treatment plants on the north and south sides of the city, where aeration, filtration and disinfection strip out iron and manganese and stabilize the water before it enters the mains.

Water from the Chicot is moderately hard, harder than the soft surface water many Louisiana cities pull from rivers and lakes. That means mineral sediment does collect at the bottom of tanks, and tankless units need descaling on a schedule rather than when someone remembers. Homes that see orange or tan specks when draining the heater are usually seeing a mix of hardness minerals and the trace iron that remains after treatment.

One local advantage: groundwater arrives at a fairly steady temperature, staying in the 60s even in a cold January. A heater in Lafayette never has to raise water from the 40s the way a northern unit does, so recovery is quicker and a modestly sized tank goes further.

Slab homes, garages and attic installs

Very few Lafayette homes have basements, since the water table is high and the soil is soft prairie clay. Older raised cottages in Freetown-Port Rico, the Saint Streets near the university and parts of the Northside sit on piers with heaters in a back closet, utility room or under-house enclosure. Ranch houses from the oil boom years in neighborhoods such as Bendel Gardens, Greenbriar and around the Oil Center usually tuck the heater into an attached garage corner or beside the washer.

Larger homes built since the 1990s, in River Ranch, Sugar Mill Pond and the subdivisions spreading south toward Youngsville and Broussard, often place the tank in the attic or a second-floor closet to save floor space. Attic heaters in a Louisiana summer sit in air well above 120°F, which bakes plastic parts and makes a pan overflow especially destructive when it soaks through drywall.

The 2016 flood and storm season

In August 2016, a stalled storm dropped extraordinary rainfall across Acadiana, and the Vermilion River and its coulees overflowed into neighborhoods that had never flooded before. Thousands of Lafayette Parish homes took water, and heaters standing on garage slabs were often ruined within hours. Many replacement tanks were set on raised platforms afterward, and some owners moved heaters into the conditioned space.

Hurricane season adds wind, power outages and the occasional flood threat from tropical rain. A gas heater whose burner sat in floodwater, or an electric heater whose elements and wiring were submerged, should not be restarted until a plumber has inspected it. In most cases, flood-damaged controls are replaced, and often the whole heater is.

The problems plumbers see most in Lafayette

• Tan mineral sediment in tanks on Chicot water that have never been drained.
• Attic pan overflows in newer two-story homes south of Kaliste Saloom Road.
• Garage heaters sitting too low in flood-prone areas near the Vermilion River and coulees.
• Scaled tankless heat exchangers in homes that skipped yearly descaling.
• Heat-baked gas valves and igniters in attics during long Acadiana summers.
• Relief valves weeping because a pressure-reducing valve or backflow device at the meter leaves heated water no room to expand.

Typical water heater prices in Lafayette

Acadiana labor rates are moderate, and most garage swaps land in the middle of these ranges. Attic jobs, platforms raised above flood height, and emergency calls after a storm push costs up.

Permits and the Louisiana State Plumbing Board

Louisiana's state plumbing board grants journeyman and master licenses and lets anyone search them online. Gas line work also falls to licensed plumbers or gas fitters under the state's rules.

Inside the city, permits for a water heater replacement come from Lafayette Consolidated Government's permitting office in the Development and Planning Department. Unincorporated parts of Lafayette Parish are also handled by LCG, while incorporated towns such as Youngsville, Broussard, Scott and Carencro may issue their own. Inspectors look at the relief valve and drain line, vent, gas connection, pan and electrical work, and, in a flood zone, whether the heater sits at an acceptable height.

LUS electric, gas service and choosing a heater

LUS supplies electricity, water and fiber service inside the city, and it is one of the few municipal utilities in Louisiana running both water and electric. Homes outside the LUS area may get electricity from SLEMCO, the local electric cooperative, or from an investor-owned utility. LUS does not sell natural gas, so gas comes from a private supplier, with Atmos Energy serving much of the Lafayette area.

Gas tanks are popular in garages where a gas line already exists. Electric tanks and heat pump water heaters suit all-electric homes, and a heat pump unit in a warm Lafayette garage runs efficiently most of the year while also drying the air around it. LUS has offered programs for efficient equipment at times, so ask before you buy.

Repair or replace in Lafayette

Below about eight years of age, a Lafayette tank with a dead element, thermocouple or valve is usually worth fixing. Past ten years on Chicot water, especially if draining it brings out lots of sediment or rusty water, replacement is generally the better bet. An attic heater nearing the end of its life deserves extra attention, since a failure upstairs causes far more damage than one in the garage.

If your heater sits on a garage floor in an area that flooded in 2016, a new install is a good chance to raise it or move it. For more, read about raising or relocating a replacement tank and descaling and fixing tankless units.

Around Lafayette

Nearby communities have their own systems. Youngsville and Broussard have grown fast and run their own water and permit offices. Scott and Carencro handle permits through their own town offices or LCG. Breaux Bridge in St. Martin Parish and Abbeville in Vermilion Parish have their own utilities and parish permitting, and rural areas across Acadiana often rely on private wells, which can carry more iron and hardness than LUS water.

Water heater questions from Lafayette