Water heater repair in Federal Way, WA

Lakehaven, the Green River and the wells

Water in Federal Way is not a city service. The Lakehaven Water & Sewer District, a special-purpose district with its own elected commissioners, owns the pipes, storage tanks and wells serving nearly all of the city plus pieces of Des Moines, Kent, Auburn and Milton. For decades the district relied mostly on its own wellfields tapping the aquifers under the plateau.

Since the mid-2000s, Lakehaven has also been a partner in the regional water supply program with Tacoma Water, Kent and Covington. That arrangement carries water from the protected upper Green River basin, filtered at Tacoma's Green River facility, west through a large transmission main. Today the river supply makes up a large share of what reaches Federal Way faucets, and Lakehaven's wells fill in during peak summer demand and when the regional line is offline.

River water from the Cascades is very low in calcium and magnesium, so tanks here seldom collect the crusty buildup common in Spokane or Yakima. Some homes nearer the wellfields may notice slightly more mineral content when the district leans on groundwater, but nothing close to truly hard water. What soft water does is consume a tank's magnesium or aluminum anode faster than many owners expect.

Twin Lakes split-levels and Dash Point ramblers

The 1960s and 1970s housing boom produced the neighborhoods most people picture when they think of Federal Way: Twin Lakes, Steel Lake, Mirror Lake, Lakota, Camelot and the streets around SW Campus Drive. Split-levels dominate, and in most of them you find the heater in the lower-level garage or a laundry closet off the family room, close to a forced-air furnace. A good number of those garages were later partly finished, which can leave a heater boxed into a tight closet with poor combustion air.

Toward the water, Dash Point, Redondo and Marine Hills have ramblers, daylight basements and custom homes stepping down the bluffs toward Puget Sound. Heaters in daylight basements here usually sit on the downhill side near the exterior wall, and steep lots make carrying a tank in or out slow work. Newer areas off Weyerhaeuser Way, in the former company lands near the old headquarters campus, have 1990s and 2000s two-story houses, the heater usually raised on a garage platform.

Damp winters, wind storms and earthquake risk

Federal Way rarely sees hard freezes, but the long gray season from October through April keeps garages cool and humid. Steel fittings, flex connectors and the bottom of tank jackets rust in that air, and a garage heater with a small drip can go unnoticed for weeks behind storage boxes. Fall wind storms that knock out PSE power also leave electric tanks and power-vented gas units cold until service returns.

The region sits above several fault systems, and the 2001 Nisqually earthquake shook Federal Way hard enough to topple unstrapped tanks across the south Sound. Washington's plumbing code requires two seismic straps on water heaters for that reason, and inspectors check for them on every replacement. An unstrapped heater can tear its gas line loose in a quake, which is a fire risk on top of the flood.

Common Federal Way water heater calls

• Rusty water from the hot side after soft Lakehaven water has eaten through an old anode.
• Corroded flex lines and nipples in cold, damp split-level garages near Steel Lake and Twin Lakes.
• No hot water after a wind storm when a power-vented unit or electric tank lost power and tripped.
• Combustion air trouble where a heater closet was walled in during a garage remodel.
• Dripping relief valves caused by thermal expansion behind a pressure-reducing valve.
• Missing seismic straps or pans on decades-old installs that never saw a permit.

What water heater work costs in Federal Way

Federal Way prices are close to Kent and Auburn and a bit under Seattle and the Eastside. Heaters buried in finished garage closets, bluff homes in Dash Point with steep access and replacements that add an expansion tank and new seismic straps cost more. PSE has offered rebates on heat pump and efficient gas units at times, so check its current list before you buy.

Federal Way permits and Washington licensing

The City of Federal Way issues plumbing and mechanical permits through its Community Development permit center at City Hall on 8th Avenue South. Inspectors look at seismic strapping, the drain pan and its outlet where a leak could cause damage, the temperature and pressure relief line, vent connections and gas piping. Homes in unincorporated pockets nearby fall under King County, and Browns Point and other Pierce County addresses follow Pierce County rules.

In Washington, plumber certificates and contractor registrations both come from the Department of Labor and Industries. Its online Verify a Contractor tool shows both the individual certificate and the company's bond and insurance. Gas piping and venting on a heater must be done by someone qualified under state rules, and L&I handles the electrical side of heat pump installs.

Sizing for families in older split-levels

Many Federal Way split-levels were built with a single bathroom upstairs and a half bath below, and they shipped with a 30- or 40-gallon tank. After years of remodels, the same houses may now have two full baths, a soaking tub and a teen or two, and the original capacity no longer fits. With winter water in the mid 40s, those Lakota and Camelot families often trade up to a 50-gallon gas model or tankless equipment sized for the cold months.

Tankless heaters do well on the soft Lakehaven supply because scale forms slowly on their heat exchangers. The cost is in the gas line, which often has to be upsized from the meter, and a new direct vent through a garage wall. A heat pump tank is another choice that works in a split-level garage, since winter air there stays above freezing most nights.

Repair or replace on the plateau

Fix a tank that is under ten years old and dry underneath if the problem is a sensor, igniter, element or valve. Plan to replace when the hot water turns brown, the jacket is wet at the base or the heater dates to the original house. Garages near Twin Lakes and Steel Lake still hold builder tanks from the 1990s, and planning a replacement before a weekend leak floods stored belongings is usually cheaper than an emergency call.

If you have soft-water anode wear but the tank is otherwise solid, replacing the rod is the most valuable maintenance you can buy. Ask the plumber to show you the old rod; a bare steel core means it should have been changed sooner.

Around Federal Way

Des Moines to the north is split between Lakehaven and Highline Water District and issues its own permits. Auburn to the east runs a city water utility drawn largely from springs and wells. Milton and Fife across the county line rely on their own systems and Tacoma Water in places. Kent and Tacoma each operate separate utilities and permit offices, and Browns Point and Dash Point on the Pierce County side are handled by Pierce County.

Water heater questions from Federal Way