San Jose Plumbing Services
Drain&Water is based in Northern California’s largest city, San Jose, and serves the entire Bay Area, including Santa Clara, San Mateo, Alameda and Contra Costa Counties.
San Jose’s large geographic area includes older areas built in the 1800s, such as Downtown San Jose (DTSJ), the Rose Garden, Willow Glen, Alviso, and East San Jose. Both Willow Glen and Alviso were once independent cities annexed to San Jose largely so that residents could get access to San Jose’s sewer system, which would have been prohibitively expensive for the small, fledgling communities.
Drain&Water specializes in underground plumbing systems—storm drains, sewer lines, and water mains. Our technicians analyze plumbing systems for homeowners and commercial property owners in the San Jose, California area. Our expertise includes fixing slow moving drains and conducting video camera inspections to undertaking complete renovations of drain and water main systems through modern trenchless technologies such as pipelining.
Slow-moving drains lead to more serious problems if not addressed properly. The use of video camera inspections to identify unseen underground problems can save time and money, and repairs can be made without traditional excavation methods. It’s important to have an expert analyze and maintain your plumbing systems to ensure the safety and functionality of your property.
Phone:
408.564.0580
Email:
[email protected]
Willow Glen
Once one of the best farming areas around the San José, California pueblo, Willow Glen grew up around the California Gold Rush. Willow Glen was an independent incorporated city for nine years, from 1927 until 1936. Today it is part of San Jose, California and is considered one of its “heritage neighborhoods.”
Historical architecture such as the Roberto-Suñol Adobe and vintage and restored Victorian-era homes lend character to Willow Glen’s streets. Older homes and neighborhoods like those in Willow Glen have specialized plumbing needs, due to aging water and drain pipes. Many homes build in the 19th and 20th Centuries still have cast iron drain and sewer lines that crack, corrode, leak, experience hard water buildup and get misaligned.
California’s 1925 Mattoon Act doomed Willow Glen’s survival as an independent city but it brought water mains or sanitary sewers to residents of Willow Glen. It also restricted the dumping sewage dumping into the Los Gatos Creek. The Mattoon Act encouraged the formation of assessment districts for city improvements and assessed property owners with septic systems. Most Willow Glen homeowners had their own septic tanks. Willow Glen’s absence of an integrated sewer system was a driving factor in Willow Glen’s incorporation into the city of San José.
Willow Glen residents essentially needed to construct a sewage system for Willow Glen or accept annexation to San José and connect to its sewer lines. An election to fund a new sewer system failed to achieve a two-thirds majority. A second election in 1936 sealed Willow Glen’s fate. Willow Glen’s voters elected to become part of the city of San José.
The Rose Garden
San Jose’s Rose Garden is one of its most prestigious neighborhoods. It is one of San José’s oldest subdivisions and noted on 1877 Chapman & Davis tract map. Many wealthy residents built mansions in The Rose Garden during San Jose’s pioneering and agricultural days.
The Rose Garden includes San Jose’s historic Shasta Hanchett Park neighborhood. Many of the homes were built between 1915 and 1930 in Craftsman, Mission Revival and Spanish eclectic styles. A few Prairie-style houses and Queen Anne style Victorian houses from an earlier period can be found in the Rose Garden as well.
The Hanchett Park neighborhood, commenced in 1907 by Lewis Hanchett, brought electric streetlights, streetcar service and a modern sewer system to the Rose Garden area.
Alviso
Alviso is San Jose’s only waterfront community. Located at the south end of the San Francisco Bay, it is the northernmost point in the City of San Jose. The Guadalupe River, which drains the Santa Cruz Mountains and Coyote Creek, which drains the Diablo Range, empty into the Alviso Slough.
The San José–Santa Clara Regional Wastewater Facility wastewater treatment plant is located in the Alviso neighborhood of San Jose, California. The City of San José provides sewer services to Alviso. The sewers are connected to the Water Pollution Control Plant (WPCP) located in Alviso via three pump stations. The sanitary sewer network is located underground in Alviso, and is approximately 40 years old.
The pipes that carry Alviso’s wastewater are 10 inches in diameter. The current pipe system is subject to backup from the local sewage mixing with the storm drainage and high levels of groundwater that exist in the area. The pipes need upgrading to prevent backups, according to a 2009 community assessment by San Jose State University’s Department of Urban and Regional Planning. Much of Alviso is below sea level and prone to flooding. Severe flooding occurred in 1983 and 1995, with water as high as 10 feet deep that destroyed homes and businesses.
According to the 2009 study, “Alviso has a history of flooding. Many of the developed areas of Alviso are currently equipped with storm sewer service, but Alviso Village does not have upgraded underground sewer lines. This area of town has a higher incidence of drainage problems and would benefit from upgraded storm sewers.”
Alviso was first settled in the 18th Century and was originally an independent town, founded in 1852. The city was consolidated into the City of San Jose in 1968, following a 189 to 180 vote in favor of consolidation.
Other Noteworthy San Jose Neighborhoods
The Alameda
Almaden Valley, including Almaden Hills Estates, Almaden Meadows, Almaden Mockingbird, Almaden Villas, Almaden Winery, Almaden-Blossom Hill, Almaden-Williams, Legends at Lake Almaden, Crossgates
Almaden
Alum Rock
Basking Ridge Neighborhood
Bella Villagio
Berry Park
Berryessa
Blossom Hill
Blossom Valley
Buena Vista
Burbank
Camden Village
Canoas East/Canoas West
College Park
Communications Hill
Delmas Park
Evergreen
Five Wounds Brookwood Terrace
Historic Hensley
Japantown
Little Branham
Little Italy
Little Portugal
Naglee Park
San Jose Country Club
Spartan/Keyes
Santa Teresa Foothills
Westgate