# Water Service Line Repair in St. Louis, MO: Who Pays? | Who Pays the Repair?

> In St. Louis the property owner owns the entire water service line; a City insurance program covers maintenance to the stop box.

**Who pays:** owner

In St. Louis, the property owner owns the entire water service line, a City insurance program maintains it up to the stop box, but the owner owns and is responsible for the whole line.

**Boundary:** The property owner owns the entire water service line. St. Louis’s Water Line Insurance program (Ord. #59363) maintains the line from the main up to and including the stop box; the owner is responsible from the stop box to the building, but owns the entire line either way.

**Property owner:** Own the entire service line and repair faulty plumbing connecting the water main to the home (and inside the home); responsible from the stop box to the building.

**City / agency:** The City’s Water Line Insurance program maintains the line from the main up to and including the stop box for eligible residential customers.

## Sources
- [Get the Lead Out: owner owns/maintains the service line](https://www.stlwater.com/resources/get-the-lead-out/) — "As the service line is owned and maintained by the property owner, it is their responsibility to repair faulty plumbing that connects the water mains to the home as well as the plumbing inside the home." (accessed 2026-09-11)
- [Leak Surcharge / Water Line Insurance: owner owns entire line](https://www.stlwater.com/resources/leak-surchage/) — "The property owner actually owns the entire service line, including that portion covered by the insurance program." (accessed 2026-09-11)
- [Leak Surcharge / Water Line Insurance Program](https://www.stlwater.com/resources/leak-surchage/) — "In 1985, the City of St. Louis approved Ordinance #59363, which established a Service Line Insurance program for residential water service lines. ... Water Line Insurance covers the maintenance of eligible residential customers’ water lines from the main in the street up to and including the customers’ stop boxes." (accessed 2026-09-27)

_Last verified 2026-09-12. Source: Who Pays the Repair? — https://whopaystherepair.com/rules/st-louis-mo-water-service-line/ — every claim checked against a primary source before publication (see /methodology/)._