Washington Plumbing & Drain comes up from Port Orchard for the work that follows: cast iron drains rotting in wet crawlspaces, galvanized pipe choking off the shower, effluent pumps on beach lots too small for a gravity drainfield, and burst pipes in houses that were closed up for January. The village is on Kitsap PUD water and entirely on septic, with private wells out toward Gunderson Road.
We give a flat price before starting and send it to your phone to approve. The work carries a satisfaction guarantee and extended warranty. For owners checking in from Seattle or farther, we photograph everything and send a clear invoice that explains what was done and why.
Indianola at a glance for plumbing
Water
Kitsap PUD operates the Indianola water system for the village and the surrounding neighborhoods. Some outlying parcels toward Miller Bay and Gunderson Road are on private wells.
Sewer or septic
Indianola has no public sewer. Every home, from the small village lots near the dock to the acreage along Gunderson Road, is on septic. The small beach lots in the village often rely on pumped systems.
Homes
Indianola was platted in 1916 as a beach vacation community served by steamers and ferries, and it still reads that way. The village is full of 1920s to 1950s cottages that have been winterized and expanded, mixed with newer homes built on the old lots. Beyond the village, 1970s to 2000s homes sit on wooded acreage. Many houses are second homes that sit empty for stretches.
Ground and weather
The village sits on a bench above Port Madison with a short bluff to the beach; behind it the ground rises onto a glacial till plateau. Lots near the water are small and close to a tidal water table. The plateau holds perched groundwater on clay through the rainy season, and the slopes shed it into the village crawlspaces. Sheltered from the north but open to the south across Port Madison, so southerly winter storms arrive straight off the water. Power outages are common enough that pumps are a real concern. The December 2022 freeze and January 2024 cold snap found vacation cottages that had not been drained and split pipes in several of them.
Cottage plumbing that grew up
The typical Indianola village house started as a two-room cottage and gained a kitchen, a bathroom, a bedroom and a second story over the decades. The plumbing grew with it, in whatever material was on hand at the time: a run of galvanized from the original build, copper from a 1970s bath, ABS from a 1990s kitchen, and a cast iron drain that has been under the floor since the beginning. Each junction between eras is a place that leaks.
We repipe the supply in PEX through the existing walls and crawlspace, replace the cast iron with Charlotte PVC, and relocate the main shutoff from the back of the crawlspace to somewhere by the door. For a cottage that has become a full-time home, we also size the water heater for the household it actually serves now rather than the two weekend visitors it was installed for.
No sewer, small lots, pumped septic
Indianola has never had public sewer, and the village's small beach lots with a tidal water table are not suited to gravity drainfields. Many rely on an effluent pump lifting treated water to a mound or a field across the road. The pump, floats, check valve and alarm are what fail, and they fail at the worst time. We replace effluent pumps with Liberty or comparable units, reset floats, repair the pressurized line to the field, and test the alarm before we leave.
An alarm during a wet week can also mean groundwater is leaking into the chamber faster than the pump can clear it. We diagnose before we replace. When the tank is simply full or the drainfield has failed, that is a septic company's work and we will say so rather than sell you a pump.
The line from the house to the tank is often original cast iron or Orangeburg in the older cottages. We camera it, replace what has failed, and add a cleanout at the house.
The empty house problem
A good share of Indianola's houses are second homes. The December 2022 freeze and the January 2024 cold snap split pipes in several that had not been drained, and the leaks ran until a neighbor or a caretaker noticed. We repair the damage and document it for insurance, but the better plan is preventing it.
A Flo by Moen smart shutoff on the main watches flow continuously, closes the valve when it detects a leak pattern, and sends an alert to your phone wherever you are. Paired with a shutoff valve you can reach and a winterizing routine, it turns a flooded floor into a text message. We install these regularly in Indianola and can winterize and de-winterize a house on a schedule for owners who would rather not.
Wells on the acreage
Out along Gunderson Road and toward Miller Bay, some homes are on private wells rather than the PUD system. We replace pressure tanks, switches and check valves, insulate well houses, locate leaks in long buried service lines, and install Cascadian or Halo filtration for wells that run high in iron or manganese. For a home that sits well above the road and cannot get a decent shower upstairs, a DAB booster pump solves it.
Water heaters without gas
Natural gas does not reach Indianola, so water heaters are electric or propane. We install Bradford White and A. O. Smith electric and propane tanks and Rinnai propane tankless units, and we match the choice to the house and the panel. For a cottage that is now home to a family of four, a properly sized tank with an expansion tank and drain pan is often the sound answer; a heat pump water heater in a garage or utility room is worth considering for anyone paying attention to the electric bill.
Plumbing problems we see most in Indianola
Local patterns
- Septic effluent pumps on small village beach lots
- Frozen and burst pipes in vacation cottages left unheated in a cold snap
- Galvanized supply and cast iron drains under winterized 1920s to 1950s cottages
- Crawlspace groundwater below the slope and near the beach
- Main shutoff valves buried in crawlspaces where nobody can reach them
- Well houses and pressure tanks on the outlying acreage
- Water heaters undersized for cottages that became full-time homes
Neighborhoods and areas in Indianola we serve
We work throughout Indianola, including Indianola village and the dock, Shore Drive waterfront, Miller Bay side, Kitsap Memorial area, Indianola Road, Gunderson Road, South Kingston Road corridor and Chief Sealth Drive, and around Indianola Dock, the long pier out into Port Madison, Indianola Clubhouse, Indianola Country Store, Port Madison Bay and the view toward Seattle, Miller Bay, Indianola Waterfront Preserve. Population is around 3,600, with a summer swell from the vacation homes; ZIP codes include 98342.
Indianola plumbing questions
How long does it take you to reach Indianola?
About 45 to 55 minutes from Port Orchard. We group Indianola with Suquamish, Kingston and Poulsbo calls and text when the truck is on its way.
Is any of Indianola on public sewer?
No. Every home in Indianola is on septic, and many village beach lots use an effluent pump to reach a drainfield.
Who supplies water?
Kitsap PUD runs the Indianola system for the village and surrounding neighborhoods. Some outlying parcels are on private wells.
We only use the house in summer. Can you winterize it for us?
Yes. We shut and drain the system, protect the water heater and traps, and de-winterize before your first visit. We can also install a smart shutoff so a leak closes itself off while you are away.
Our cottage crawlspace smells like sewage after heavy rain. What is that?
Usually a cast iron drain line that has rotted through, with rain washing what has leaked out toward the vents. We camera the line, replace the failed run in PVC, and add a cleanout so the crawlspace never has to be entered for cleaning again.
The septic pump alarm is on and we are not there. What should our caretaker do?
Run no water in the house and call us at (360) 812-1124. We replace effluent pumps, floats and check valves and take those calls after hours. We will photograph the work and send you the invoice directly.
Can you install a propane tankless water heater in Indianola?
Yes. We install Rinnai propane units with correctly sized regulators and lines and proper venting, and we recommend a sediment filter and yearly descaling for homes on a well.
