How to choose the right service
When you know the job, pick it from the list above. When you only know what you are seeing, this table points to the page that covers it.
| What you notice | What it usually means | Where to start |
|---|---|---|
| No hot water, or not enough | A failed part such as a gas valve, igniter or element, or a tank near the end of its life | Water heater repair |
| Water pooling at the base of the water heater | A leak at a fitting or valve, or a tank that has rusted through | Water heater repair |
| One slow or stopped drain | A clog in that fixture’s line | Drain cleaning |
| Several drains slow at once, or a toilet that gurgles | A stoppage in the main line | Drain cleaning or hydro jetting |
| Sewage at a floor drain or tub, or a main line that keeps stopping | Roots, a sag or a break in the sewer line | Sewer line repair |
| A water bill that jumps, or a meter that turns with everything off | A hidden leak | Leak detection |
| Pinhole leaks, rusty water or weak pressure all through the house | Supply pipes at the end of their life | Repiping |
| White scale on fixtures and a water heater that heats less | Hard water | Water softeners |
Water heaters
Kirk’s crew repairs and replaces tank water heaters and installs and services tankless units. Valley water is hard: SCV Water’s 2026 report puts its groundwater at an average of 354 mg/L of hardness and its imported surface water at about 160, so scale builds up in tanks and tankless heat exchangers alike. That is why a tankless unit here needs regular descaling.
A replacement needs a permit in the City of Santa Clarita and in the county areas of the valley, and every new heater is braced or strapped against earthquakes, as state law requires. SoCalGas rebates on high-efficiency units, with their conditions and closing date, are listed under rebates for a new water heater. See water heater repair, water heater replacement and tankless water heaters, and the guide to tankless vs tank water heaters.
Drains and sewer lines
A drain cable usually clears a single-fixture clog. Grease, scale and roots that come back call for hydro jetting, which scours the pipe wall with water under high pressure. A camera inspection shows what is inside the line before anyone digs.
How much of the sewer lateral is the owner’s depends on where you live. Sewer line repair sets out the city and county rules and what they mean for a repair, and drain cleaning covers the everyday clogs.
Leaks and pipes
Leak detection finds water you can’t see: under a slab, inside a wall or along the line from the meter. SCV Water owns the line up to and including the meter, and the property owner is responsible for everything after it. When a house keeps springing pinhole leaks, replacing the supply pipes is often better value than chasing them one at a time: repiping covers the job, and leaks under the foundation have their own page, slab leak repair.
Water conditioning and everyday repairs
Automatic salt-based water softeners are banned throughout the Santa Clarita Valley, and the valley page has the ban’s details. Water softeners covers the salt-free systems and what they can and can’t do about scale.
The everyday jobs have a page too: toilets, faucets, garbage disposals, shower valves, hose bibs and pressure regulators, in plumbing repair. SCV Water aims to run its system between 40 and 150 psi, and wherever the static pressure tops 80 psi the plumbing code calls for a pressure regulating valve on the house side of the meter.
Permits and the license
The office that issues a permit follows the address, not the town name: the City of Santa Clarita, or LA County Public Works for the unincorporated areas. The valley page sets out who issues plumbing permits where, with each office’s address.
The plumbing FAQ covers permits and how to check the license. Not sure which service fits what you are seeing? Call the shop and describe it.
Sources
4 cited
- SCV Water, 2026 Consumer Confidence Report (hardness), read October 12, 2026
- SCV Water, Customer Service Policy (pressure and the meter) and cross-connection and backflow, read October 12, 2026
- LA County Sanitation Districts, Santa Clarita Valley chloride control (the softener ban), read October 12, 2026
- City of Santa Clarita Permit Center and LA County Santa Clarita Valley Building and Safety Office, read October 12, 2026