Water heater repair in Wichita Falls, TX

Three lakes, two plants and a drought nobody forgets

The City of Wichita Falls supplies its own residents and a number of surrounding towns from three reservoirs. Lake Arrowhead and Lake Kickapoo, both southwest of town, supply most of the water, and Lake Kemp, much larger but saltier, adds supply when needed. Raw water is treated at two city facilities, the Jasper plant and the Cypress plant. Cypress includes membrane treatment, which lets the city make use of brackish water that a conventional plant could not.

Wichita Falls became nationally known during the drought that peaked in 2014 and 2015, when combined lake levels fell to roughly a quarter of capacity. With the lakes nearly gone, the city built a temporary direct potable reuse system that piped highly treated wastewater from the River Road plant to Cypress, where it was blended with lake water and treated again before reaching taps. It ran for about a year, until heavy rains in spring 2015 refilled the reservoirs. The episode left residents with strict watering habits and a clear sense of how quickly their supply can tighten.

What reaches a Wichita Falls tank, then, is mineral-rich water whose salt load shifts with the lakes. When the lakes are full the water is merely hard. During droughts, total dissolved solids climb, scale forms faster and anode rods are consumed more quickly.

Brick ranches, Floral Heights and base housing

Wichita Falls boomed in the oil years of the early twentieth century and again after World War II. The Floral Heights neighborhood near Midwestern State has large early 1900s homes, often on pier-and-beam foundations, with heaters in a back hall closet, a former pantry or an enclosed porch. Many of these houses still have galvanized or mixed piping somewhere on the hot side, which complicates a replacement.

The bulk of the city is post-war brick ranch housing, built on slabs in neighborhoods spreading south and west toward Kemp Boulevard and Southwest Parkway. In these homes, a 40-gallon gas tank in a hall closet or garage is the standard setup. Newer subdivisions on the southwest side tend to put heaters in garages, and some larger homes use attic installations.

Sheppard Air Force Base, home to a major training wing and an international pilot training program, brings a steady churn of military families. Many rent off base for a few years at a time, so rental heaters around the city see heavy use and little upkeep between tenants.

Tornadoes, ice storms and 100-degree summers

Wichita Falls weather swings hard. On April 10, 1979, a violent tornado cut across the south side of the city in what locals still call Terrible Tuesday, destroying thousands of homes. Large parts of that area were rebuilt in the years after, which is why so many houses there date to the early 1980s and now carry their second or third heater.

Summers routinely top 100°F, and attic heaters and the gas valves on them bake. Winters bring blue northers, ice storms and occasional hard freezes, with inlet water falling into the 40s. That cold makes a heater work much harder in January than in July, so a heater that coasts through August can fall behind the morning after a norther blows in. The February 2021 storm drove temperatures into the single digits and below here, and heaters in exterior closets and unheated garages took real damage.

The problems plumbers see most in Wichita Falls

• Hall-closet gas tanks in post-war ranch homes with cramped combustion air and tired flue connectors.
• Mineral-packed tank bottoms from lake water that gets saltier every drought.
• Spent anode rods that let a tank rust out quickly once the protection is gone.
• Winter shortfalls when cold inlet water exposes a tank that was always a bit small.
• Freeze-damaged valves on heaters in garages and exterior closets after ice storms.
• Neglected rental heaters in housing near Sheppard and Midwestern State.

Typical water heater costs in Wichita Falls

Wichita Falls is a smaller market than the Metroplex, and labor rates reflect that. Expect the higher figures for Floral Heights homes with older piping, tight closets that need venting corrections, and calls during ice storms when every plumber in town is booked.

Permits and Texas plumbing licenses

Water heater replacements inside the city are permitted through the City of Wichita Falls building inspection office. The city inspector reviews the flue, the gas line and shutoff, the relief valve drain and, for closet installs, whether the heater has adequate combustion air. Burkburnett, Iowa Park and other nearby towns run their own permit offices, and unincorporated Wichita County follows county requirements.

Texas plumbers are licensed by the state. Wichita Falls plumbers long answered to TSBPE, the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners. Lawmakers have been folding that board's duties into TDLR. Whichever agency's search you use, a Wichita Falls homeowner can check that the plumber holds an active license and which master plumber the company operates under.

Oncor, Atmos and retail electric choice

Wichita Falls is part of the ERCOT market, with Oncor delivering electricity and residents picking a retail provider for the power itself. Atmos Energy runs the gas mains, and gas-fired tanks outnumber electric ones in most Wichita Falls neighborhoods.

Gas tanks remain the practical default in Wichita Falls because they handle cold winter inlet water well. Tankless gas units also work here, though older homes may need a larger gas line to feed them. Heat pump units can earn their keep in a south-side garage that holds some warmth, but closet installs in older homes rarely have the space or airflow one needs.

Sizing for a Red River winter

Because inlet water can fall into the 40s, a Wichita Falls tank has to raise the temperature far more in winter than in summer. A 40-gallon tank that serves two people comfortably may struggle once a family of four starts taking back-to-back showers on a January morning. Stepping from 40 to 50 gallons, or choosing a higher-input burner, during a replacement is often worth the cost, if the closet and the vent allow it.

Insulating the hot and cold lines near the heater, especially in garages and exterior closets, also helps it keep up and protects the pipes during ice storms. Adjusting the thermostat a little higher in winter can help, but a mixing valve should be added to prevent scalding if you go beyond about 120°F.

Repair or replace in Wichita Falls

Pilot and thermocouple problems on a gas tank under ten years old are almost always worth fixing. If the tank is older, has gone through a drought or two without an anode replacement and is starting to show rust at the fittings or base, a new heater is the better spend. When replacing a closet unit, have the plumber verify the combustion air openings and vent sizing, which are often out of date in homes built before the 1970s.

Around Wichita Falls

Burkburnett to the north near the Red River and Iowa Park to the west each run their own city utilities and permit counters. Lakeside City and Holliday are smaller communities southwest of town, and Electra lies farther west along the highway. Henrietta in Clay County to the east has its own water and inspection arrangements. Rural homes across Wichita and Clay counties may use private wells, which can have even harder water than the city.

Water heater questions from Wichita Falls