City of Gig Harbor: water, sewer and permits

Living inside Gig Harbor does not make the city your water supplier; its map shows several purveyors, while the city owns and runs the sanitary sewer system and issues plumbing permits.

Sheet revised November 4, 2026

Why a city address can still have another supplier

Many residents of the city and its growth area get water from adjacent purveyors or private wells, the city's own utility page says. It lists Washington Water Service, Peninsula Light Water and Thurston PUD beside its own system. So read the city's purveyor map first, then use the supplier lookup steps if your lot sits near a boundary.

The city's 2018 Water System Plan describes eight groundwater wells, six reservoirs, one booster pump station and nine pressure reducing stations. Those are 2018 figures.

City water customers: valves and backflow

Under the 2018 Public Works Standards, a pressure reducing valve sits past the meter on the customer's side, and the property owner maintains it. That covers valves only. We found no current plain-language statement of who owns the rest of the line.

If a licensed plumber finds your valve has failed, one store lists pressure reducing valves. The same team runs PlumbingSupplyAndMore and this site.

If a single-family service feeds irrigation, city code calls for a double check backflow assembly beside the meter. See backflow and irrigation for how that varies. Other water suppliers here may set different terms, so ask yours.

What the city's lead numbers show

The city completed a city-wide lead service line inventory in October 2024. Its 2023 water quality report gives a 90th-percentile lead result of 3 ppb, with 1 of 30 sampled sites above the action level. These figures cover the city's system only. If you are on another supplier, ask for that supplier's report. Lead and old lines explains what to do next.

Sewer and permit paths

City sewer stops at the limits, apart from chosen developments in the growth area, Canterwood Estates and the Washington Corrections Center for Women among them. The treatment plant dates from 1975, with major upgrades in 2009 and 2016.

Plumbing permits come from the city, which publishes an undated plumbing fee sheet and an application for minor residential plumbing work. Installing, repairing or altering infrastructure connected to a city water, sewer or stormwater utility falls under civil permits instead. Outside the city, use the Gig Harbor Peninsula sheet, since the county handles permits there.