Water supply is the first question we ask on a University Place job. Tacoma Water, part of Tacoma Public Utilities, supplies most of University Place with Green River water backed by wells. A few pockets near the Lakewood line are served by Lakewood Water District. Private wells are uncommon. It is about 40 minutes from Port Orchard, over the Narrows Bridge and south on Bridgeport Way or Jackson Avenue to University Place, a run we make often enough to know the roads, the water districts and the quirks of the housing.
Why hydro jetting is a little different in University Place
Rainy season in University Place fills parking lot catch basins with needles, gravel and silt. We jet storm lines for local businesses and multifamily properties before the November storms and after the first flood, basin to basin, so the lot drains the way it was designed to.
Where the drains end up matters just as much. Nearly all of University Place is on the Pierce County Sewer system, which runs to the Chambers Creek Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant inside the city. A small number of older homes near the bluffs and Day Island were on septic into the 1990s, and a few may remain; most have since connected.
Local conditions that affect hydro jetting in University Place
Here is a University Place detail that changes how we approach the job: Water heaters past their life in garages of 1970s split-levels
Many University Place homes are on private wells, and a well cannot feed a jetter for long. Our truck carries its own water supply, which is the difference between a thorough jetting and a job cut short when the pressure tank runs dry.
The pattern we see most in University Place is this: Pinhole leaks in 1960s and 70s copper, often in slab-on-grade ramblers
Wooded lots around University Place send fir, cedar and maple roots into any sewer joint that leaks a little water. Jetting with a root nozzle removes the fine hairs a cutting head leaves, and the camera afterward shows where the roots got in so you can plan a repair or a cleaning schedule.
Signs University Place homeowners call us for hydro jetting
Worth a call
- Grease smell comes up through a kitchen drain even after cleaning
- A parking lot catch basin overflows during heavy rain
- Sand or silt keeps settling in a floor or yard drain
- A plumber told you the only fix was replacement, and you want the pipe cleaned and filmed first
- The same kitchen or main line has been cabled more than once in the past year
How we handle hydro jetting in University Place
For hydro jetting in University Place the order of operations is describe the history, inspect the access and quote, camera the line when the pipe is in question, jet from the downstream end, verify and show you, then set a schedule if the line needs one. That sequence keeps the work predictable and the price honest.
Read the full step-by-step for hydro jetting →
University Place neighborhoods and areas we serve
Call from Fircrest border east of Orchard Street, Leach Creek and Chambers Creek Canyon or anywhere else in University Place, including the places near Curran Apple Orchard Park and Chambers Creek Canyon Trail that other outfits treat as a long drive.
Hydro Jetting questions from University Place
Do you offer scheduled jetting for University Place businesses?
We do. Restaurants, apartment complexes and commercial lots in Pierce County use us for quarterly or semiannual grease line and storm drain service, with records kept for each line.
Will you show me the pipe after jetting in University Place?
On main lines we run the camera afterward and show you the footage. You see the clean wall and anything that still needs attention, which keeps the conversation about repairs honest.
Do you bring the jetting truck to University Place?
Yes. University Place is inside our regular service area, and the jetting rig travels anywhere in Pierce County with its own water on board.
How do I know if my University Place drain needs jetting or just a cable?
If it has clogged once, a cable is usually enough. If it has clogged repeatedly, drains slowly everywhere, or a camera showed grease or scale on the pipe wall, jetting is the better value. We tell you which before quoting.
How is jetting different from snaking?
A cable bores a hole through the blockage. A jetter cleans the inside wall of the pipe with high-pressure water and flushes the debris out. Snaking is faster and cheaper for a simple clog. Jetting is the fix for grease, scale, silt and lines that keep clogging.
Pierce County is a regular part of our week. We cross the Narrows for University Place jobs often enough that the bridge toll is simply part of doing business, and it never shows up as a line on your invoice.