Plumbers in Montclair, CA

Montclair at a glance

Montclair is a Pomona Valley city in San Bernardino County, about 30 miles east of Los Angeles and roughly 19 miles from Riverside in a straight line. It incorporated in 1956 as Monte Vista and took the Montclair name in 1958. The 2020 Census counted 37,865 residents. The city grew out of citrus orchards after World War II, and today Interstate 10, Mills Avenue, the Montclair Place mall and the Montclair Transit Center are its best-known landmarks.

Water from one agency, sewer from another

Monte Vista Water District (MVWD) is Montclair's water provider. When a new resident starts service, MVWD forwards the details to the city, which opens the trash and sewer accounts. The city refers water quality and main water line questions to MVWD at (909) 624-0035. Montclair's water hardness was not available on the sheet; most Inland Empire water is moderately hard to hard, and MVWD's water quality report is the place to check.

The City of Montclair runs the sewer. Properties just outside city limits that want to connect to Montclair sewer have to go through an irrevocable annexation process with the Planning Department, and work on city sewers needs a permit and a contractor holding a CSLB Class A license.

Older housing and what it means

Montclair's housing is on the older side, with a median year built of 1969. The city itself advises having older homes checked by a plumber for problems such as pipe corrosion or lead from old pipes. In practice that means galvanized supply lines that have narrowed with rust, cast iron drains that crack or scale up, clay or cast iron sewer laterals invaded by roots, and original gas piping and shutoffs. Repiping, sewer camera inspections and lateral repairs are common jobs here.

Permits and gas

Montclair's Community Development Building & Planning handles permits; the Building Department is at (909) 625-9477, with inspection requests at (909) 625-9448. SoCalGas serves the city. If you ever smell gas, leave the house before doing anything else, then call 911 and SoCalGas at 1-800-427-2200 from a safe distance.

How Montclair differs from Riverside

In Riverside, Riverside Public Utilities runs the water system and the City operates sewer and permits. In Montclair the water district and the city split those roles, and the housing stock is older than Riverside's on average, so expect more pipe-replacement work. When you call the number on this page, describe the problem and the age of the house if you know it. You will be connected with an independent plumber who works in Montclair, and you settle price and timing directly with that plumber.