Water heater repair in Ann Arbor, MI

The Huron River, Barton Pond and the Steere Farm wells

Ann Arbor runs its own water system. Most of the supply is pulled from the Huron River behind Barton Dam, on the northwest side, and the rest comes from city wells, including a wellfield at Steere Farm west of town. Both sources are piped to the water treatment plant on Sunset Road, where the city uses lime softening, filtration and ozone treatment before sending water out to homes.

Untreated groundwater around Washtenaw County is quite hard, and the river picks up minerals as it runs through farmland and suburbs upstream. Softening at the plant brings city water down to a moderate level. In practice that means an Ann Arbor tank on city water builds up sediment more slowly than one on a private well in Scio or Lodi Township, though it still benefits from a periodic flush.

Since most of the supply is river water, temperature follows the season. The water feeding a Burns Park basement can fall into the upper 30s after a hard February freeze and rise past 70 degrees in a hot August. That swing explains why hot water that lasted all through September runs short partway into the second shower once winter arrives.

The 1,4-dioxane plume and what it means for your heater

West of the city, an industrial solvent called 1,4-dioxane leaked into groundwater from the former Gelman Sciences site on Wagner Road in Scio Township, starting decades ago. The plume has spread under parts of the west side, and state and local agencies monitor it with a network of test wells. Some properties sit inside a zone where drinking water wells are restricted.

Ann Arbor tests its supply regularly, and city water has met state standards. The city has also weighed the plume's long-term risk to its river intake. For homeowners, the practical point is simpler: a water heater does not remove or concentrate this chemical in a way that a filter or softener under the sink would. If you are on a private well near the plume, ask the county or the state environment department about testing before choosing any water treatment equipment.

This issue does affect plumbing work on the west side. Plumbers working near Jackson Road, Dexter Avenue or Scio Church Road sometimes see owners who have moved from a private well to city water, which can mean a new service line, a new pressure regulator and a different expansion tank setup at the heater.

Old houses, student rentals and new condos

Neighborhoods close to campus, like the Old West Side, Kerrytown, Water Hill, Lower Town and the streets around Packard and State, are full of early twentieth century frame houses, many with Michigan basements that have stone walls and low ceilings. In those homes the heater usually stands near the furnace at the bottom of steep stairs, sometimes beside a sump crock.

A large share of those houses near central campus have been carved into student apartments. It is common to find two or three heaters in one basement, or a single seventy-five-gallon tank serving five tenants who all shower before morning lectures. When the tank quits during finals week or right before a home football Saturday, the landlord gets a lot of messages very quickly.

Burns Park, Ann Arbor Hills and Arbor Hills Village have larger houses with roomier basements, and some have boiler systems with indirect tanks. Postwar ranches and colonials fill the northeast and the south side near Georgetown and Lansdowne, and newer townhomes and condos along the north campus edge and near Briarwood often place a smaller tank or a tankless unit in a utility closet.

Rental inspections and landlord repairs

Ann Arbor requires rental properties to be registered and inspected on a regular cycle. Inspectors look at the water heater along with smoke alarms and egress, so a missing relief valve discharge pipe, a cracked draft hood or a gas connector of an old type can hold up a rental certificate. Landlords near campus often schedule heater work in May, between leases, to avoid tenants losing hot water mid-semester.

Tenants with no hot water should contact their landlord or property manager first. Michigan landlords are generally responsible for keeping the heater working, and an emergency plumber hired by a tenant may not be reimbursed unless the lease or the landlord allows it.

The problems plumbers see most in Ann Arbor

• Overworked rental tanks where five or six tenants share one heater in a converted house near campus.
• Lonely chimney flues in Old West Side basements after the furnace moved to a sidewall vent.
• Sump and floor drain backups soaking burners in low basements near Allen Creek and Malletts Creek.
• Failed pilot assemblies on tanks original to 1960s and 1970s ranches on the northeast side.
• Expansion tank and pressure problems after a west side home switched from a private well to city service.
• Tankless units starved for gas where a small line was never upsized during a condo remodel.

Typical water heater prices in Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor tends to run higher than much of southeast Michigan, because labor is in demand and so many jobs involve tight basements, older venting or rental timing. A tank swap in a newer north side condo with an open closet costs less than one down a steep set of stairs off Packard. Our notes on replacement quotes break down the line items.

Licensing and permits in Ann Arbor

Michigan licenses plumbers through the State Plumbing Board within the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, known as LARA. Water heater replacement needs a plumbing permit, and a gas unit also needs a mechanical permit covering the gas line and venting. Inside city limits, permits and inspections run through the City of Ann Arbor's building and rental services office.

Homes in Pittsfield, Scio, Ann Arbor and Superior townships carry an Ann Arbor mailing address but fall under township or county inspection, not the city. When you hire a plumber, ask which jurisdiction they will file with and confirm their Michigan license on the LARA lookup site.

DTE gas and electric, and the case for heat pumps

DTE Energy supplies both natural gas and electricity to Ann Arbor, so a heater swap is the moment to decide which fuel to use. Most older homes have gas tanks. Heat pump water heaters have grown more common here, helped by an active city sustainability office and by DTE efficiency rebates offered at times.

A heat pump tank wants a basement holding at roughly fifty degrees or warmer, and most Ann Arbor basements manage that. It cools and dries the space around it, a benefit in a damp Michigan summer, but it needs a condensate drain and enough open air volume, which can be scarce in a stone-walled cellar near Kerrytown.

Repair or replace in Ann Arbor

On softened city water, a gas tank in Ann Arbor commonly lasts ten to thirteen years. A tank under eight years old that needs a thermocouple, igniter or relief valve is usually a clear repair. If it is older, leaking from the seam, or failing a rental inspection for venting, replacement often costs about the same as several repairs in a row.

For landlords, sizing matters more than brand. A house rented to six students needs either a larger tank, a high-recovery commercial-style unit or two smaller heaters. A leak on a finished basement floor deserves an urgent call, so read what to do about a leak right away.

Around Ann Arbor

Ypsilanti to the east is served by the Ypsilanti Community Utilities Authority and has its own city building office, with many older rentals near Eastern Michigan University. Saline and Dexter run their own water systems and permit counters. Pittsfield Township, Scio Township and Ann Arbor Township border the city, with a mix of city water connections and private wells. Chelsea to the west has its own water and building department.

Water heater questions from Ann Arbor