The plumbing here is waterfront plumbing. Cabins along Burley Lagoon and Henderson Bay sit low, drain to septic tanks with pumps, and get their water from small community systems or their own wells. The newer homes on the hill toward Gig Harbor North are a different animal, but the lagoon side is where most of our Purdy work is.
Washington Plumbing & Drain is a veteran-owned family company with more than 200 five-star Google reviews. Flat-rate pricing before we start, a four-hour arrival window, and the plumber texts when he is leaving the last job.
Purdy at a glance for plumbing
Water
A mix of small community water systems and private wells. Peninsula Light Company and Washington Water Service both have systems in the Purdy and Gig Harbor North area, and the shoreline and upland lots off Goodnough and Purdy Drive include many individual wells.
Sewer or septic
Residential Purdy is almost entirely on septic. The businesses along the shoreline and Peninsula High School connect to the Gig Harbor sewer line, but homes do not. The Burley Lagoon watershed has thousands of septic systems, which is why the lagoon's shellfish beds are watched so closely.
Homes
Older waterfront cabins from the 1940s through the 70s along Burley Lagoon and Henderson Bay, 1980s and 90s homes on the uplands, and newer construction spilling north from Gig Harbor North. The waterfront homes are the ones with galvanized supply lines, cast iron under the floor and septic pump chambers; the newer ones bring PEX and tankless heaters.
Ground and weather
Low shoreline around the lagoon and Henderson Bay with a high water table, rising to glacial till on the hill where the high school sits. The spit itself is sand and shell. Drainfields near the water are shallow and sensitive to winter groundwater. The lagoon and bay keep the air damp and the wind funnels through the gap toward Wauna. Hard freezes in December 2022 and January 2024 froze crawlspace lines on waterfront cabins and exposed pump houses. Winter rains raise the water table under the shoreline lots within days.
Plumbing for the low side of the lagoon
The homes along Burley Lagoon and Henderson Bay were mostly cabins first, and many still have the cabin's plumbing under a remodeled shell. Galvanized supply pipe, a cast iron or early ABS drain, and a crawlspace that sits a foot or two above the winter water table. The symptoms are predictable: weak hot water flow, rust-colored first draw, drains that gurgle after a big rain, and a smell in the crawlspace in January.
We repipe these houses in PEX from the crawlspace, replace cast iron with PVC, and add a cleanout where the original builder skipped one. Because the ground is wet most of the year, we also look hard at the main drain between the house and the septic tank, since a cracked joint there pulls groundwater into the tank and overloads the drainfield.
Septic pump chambers and the shellfish rules
Almost every house in Purdy is on septic, and because the lots near the water are low, a lot of them pump effluent uphill to a drainfield. The pump chamber holds a Liberty or similar effluent pump, floats and an alarm, and when the pump dies the tank fills within a day of normal use. We replace pumps, floats, check valves and alarm panels, and we test everything before we leave.
Burley Lagoon is a commercial shellfish area, and the health department pays attention to septic systems in this watershed. A failing pump or a drainfield that surfaces during the rains can bring a letter. We can get a pump back online fast, and we will be honest about when the problem is the drainfield or the tank, which is a septic company's job rather than ours.
Wells, community water and pressure
Purdy water comes from small systems and private wells. On a private well, a pressure tank that has lost its air charge makes the pump cycle every few seconds and the shower pulse. A tired pressure switch does the same. We replace Well-X-Trol and Amtrol tanks, switches, check valves and controls, and we install DAB booster pumps for homes on a shared system that runs weak at the top of the hill.
Well water around the lagoon often carries iron and sediment. Orange stains in the tub and aerators that clog every month are the tell. A whole-house sediment and iron filter ahead of the water heater protects the heater and the fixtures, and a reverse osmosis unit at the kitchen sink handles drinking water. We only recommend treatment after testing what is actually in your water.
Freeze damage and the wind through the gap
The gap between Burley Lagoon and Henderson Bay funnels cold wind, and the waterfront cabins with open crawlspace vents froze hard in December 2022 and January 2024. We repaired split copper, cracked PEX fittings and a few pump houses where the pressure switch froze solid. Prevention is cheap: insulate the crawlspace lines, close vents during a cold snap, heat tape on the pump house line, and frost-free hose bibs.
If you wake up to no water in a cold snap, shut off the main before anything thaws. A frozen pipe does not leak; a thawed one does. We carry the fittings to repair most splits the same day and we can relocate a main shutoff indoors so you can reach it next time.
Plumbing problems we see most in Purdy
Local patterns
- Septic effluent pumps and alarms on low shoreline lots around Burley Lagoon
- Crawlspace pipes freezing in older waterfront cabins with open vents
- Private well pressure tanks waterlogged and pumps short-cycling
- Iron and sediment in well water staining fixtures and clogging aerators
- Galvanized supply lines in 1950s and 60s cabins choking flow
- Hose bibs and yard hydrants cracked by freezes on larger upland lots
Neighborhoods and areas in Purdy we serve
We work throughout Purdy, including Purdy Spit and the bridge, Burley Lagoon shoreline, Henderson Bay waterfront, Peninsula High School hill, Goodnough Drive and Purdy Drive, Highway 302 corridor toward Wauna and Burley-Olalla boundary area, and around Purdy Bridge and Purdy Sandspit, Burley Lagoon, Peninsula High School, Highway 16 and SR 302 interchange, Henderson Bay. Population is roughly 1,700 in the census area, with far more people passing through at the Highway 16 and 302 junction; ZIP codes include 98332.
Purdy plumbing questions
How fast can you get to Purdy?
Purdy is about 20 minutes from our shop, so same-day service is common. Corinne will give you a four-hour window and the plumber texts when he is on the way.
Is any part of residential Purdy on sewer?
No. The businesses along the shoreline and the high school connect to Gig Harbor's sewer line, but the homes are on septic. If you are buying here, get a septic inspection and a sewer camera scope of the line from the house to the tank.
My septic alarm went off at night. What do I do?
Stop running water, silence the alarm, and call us. Most alarm calls are a failed effluent pump or float, which we replace. If the tank is full of solids it needs pumping first, and we will tell you if that is the case.
Can you fix low water pressure on my Purdy well?
Yes. The usual causes are a waterlogged pressure tank, a bad pressure switch or a failing pump. We diagnose at the pump house and replace what is actually broken.
Do you treat the iron in my well water?
We install whole-house iron and sediment filters and reverse osmosis for drinking water, sized to what a water test shows. If your water does not need treatment we will say so.
Do you charge extra for Pierce County addresses?
No. Purdy is closer to us than much of Kitsap County, and our flat-rate pricing is the same across all three counties.
