Nashville, TN · Water Service Line

Water Service Line Repair in Nashville, TN: Who Pays?

Who pays?
Shared

Metro Nashville owns the water service line up to the meter; everything from the meter to the building is the property owner’s, lead pipe or not.

High confidence · Verified Sep 11, 2026 · 1 source

What to do next

What to do next

  1. Go to the official page this answer comes from

    Metro Water Services, Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County / official

    Official page

  2. Photograph the problem and write down the date

    Take the photos before any work starts.

  3. If the city sent a notice, note its deadline

    Write down the date it must be fixed by and exactly what it asks for.

  4. If the repair is yours, get more than one written quote

    Ask each contractor to confirm where your part ends and the public part begins.

Work through the full repair checklist

If the repair is yours to pay

Get more than one quote before you agree to a price, and ask the contractor to confirm where the property line and the public side begin.

Compare licensed plumbers on Angi

Get more than one quote before a sewer, water-line, or drain repair.

See what a home warranty covers (Choice)

Read the coverage and exclusions before you buy; not every repair qualifies.

Partner link. Who Pays the Repair? may earn a commission if you request a quote or sign up, at no cost to you. It never changes who we say pays.

Responsibility Boundary

Default rule and exceptions

Metro Water Services-owned: water main to the meter. Owner-owned/repaired: meter to the residence or building. Lead service lines on a customer’s property are the owner’s responsibility.

PartyWhat they are responsible for
Property ownerMaintain and repair the service line from the meter to the residence or building, including any lead service line on the customer’s property.
City / public agencyMetro Water Services owns the service line from the water main to the meter.
ExceptionsNone on record

What the source says

Last verified against the primary source on Sep 11, 2026.

Metro Water Services owns the service line from the water main to the meter. The property owner is responsible for the service line from the meter to the residence or building.
Service Line Replacement: Metro owns main-to-meter, owner owns meter-to-building, checked Sep 11, 2026
Lead service lines on a customer’s property are not part of the public water system and are the responsibility of the property owner.
Service Line Replacement: lead lines on customer property are the owner’s responsibility, checked Sep 11, 2026

Common questions

Who pays for water service line in Nashville, TN?

Responsibility is shared. Maintain and repair the service line from the meter to the residence or building, including any lead service line on the customer’s property.

What is this based on for Nashville, TN?

This verdict is sourced to Service Line Replacement: Metro owns main-to-meter, owner owns meter-to-building and 2 sources in total, each independently re-checked before publication.

Sources

  1. Service Line Replacement: Metro owns main-to-meter, owner owns meter-to-buildingofficial · verified-primary · accessed 2026-09-11
  2. Service Line Replacement: lead lines on customer property are the owner’s responsibilityofficial · verified-primary · accessed 2026-09-11
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Found an out-of-date code section, a wrong verdict, or a better primary source? Tell us. Corrections that check out are applied, with the change shown in history. That is our standing policy.

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