18 Best Plumbers in Oakland County, MI: Scored & Licence-Checked

Royal Oak

Royal Oak issues plumbing permits through its Building Division (203 S Troy St; 248-246-3210), with the permit portal at AccessMyGov (you request a PIN from the Building Department to link an account). [City of Royal Oak — Building Inspection]

Royal Oak buys its water from the Southeast Oakland County Water Authority (SOCWA), which buys wholesale from GLWA, and owns about 220 miles of water main. [City of Royal Oak — Water & Sewer System Overview]

Royal Oak is on a combined sewer — storm and sanitary flow mix into one pipe that drains to the county’s George W. Kuhn system. On a backup, call the Department of Public Service (248-246-3300); the city handles blockages in the main, while the homeowner’s lateral is the owner’s responsibility. [City of Royal Oak — Sewer FAQ / Street & Basement Flooding]

Royal Oak has lead service lines and an active replacement program that swaps lead or galvanized lines for copper at no cost. A 2023 city inventory listed 260 lead and 826 galvanized lines (plus ~1,783 unknown), with 811 replaced since 2019 at about $4,300 each and a goal of finishing by 2033. [City of Royal Oak — Lead Service Line Replacement Program; Water System Advisory Council (Nov 2023)]

Over half of Royal Oak’s single-family housing was built before 1960, so galvanized supply lines and clay sewer laterals are common — part of why its combined sewer and lead-line program are so active. [City of Royal Oak — CDBG Consolidated Plan 2021–2025]

Farmington Hills

Farmington Hills issues building, plumbing, electrical and mechanical permits through its Building Division (31555 W. Eleven Mile Rd; 248-871-2450), with applications filed online through BS&A. [City of Farmington Hills — Building]

GLWA supplies Farmington Hills water from Lake Huron and the Detroit River. [Oakland County WRC — Farmington Hills community page]

The county WRC operates Farmington Hills’ sewers. On a sanitary backup not caused by internal plumbing, the city directs residents to the Oakland County WRC, with a written PA 222 claim filed within 45 days; a private sewer lead is the owner’s responsibility. [City of Farmington Hills — Sewer Backup Information]

There are no known lead service lines in the Farmington Hills water system — Oakland County has required copper for service lines of 2 inches or less since 1957, and Michigan banned lead statewide in 1988. [Oakland County WRC — Farmington Hills community page]

Waterford

Waterford Township issues building, mechanical, electrical and plumbing permits through Development Services (5200 Civic Center Dr; 248-674-6238), using BS&A Online; inspectors are in the office 8–9 a.m. [Charter Township of Waterford — Development Services / Permits]

Waterford runs its own water and sewer systems through Public Works (248-674-2278) — 13 water treatment plants, over 350 miles each of water and sanitary sewer main and 63 pumping stations — with wastewater conveyed to Detroit through the Clinton-Oakland Interceptor. [Charter Township of Waterford — Public Works]

Waterford’s sewer is township-run, not on the county WRC operated list; the Public Works emergency line (after hours 248-618-7550) is the local contact for a water or sewer problem. [Charter Township of Waterford — Public Works]

Waterford submitted its service-line inventory to the state before the October 2024 deadline; physical verification found no lead lines beyond one known private-side lead line it plans to replace, and it put the chance that any single unknown line is lead at under 1.4%. [Charter Township of Waterford — Complete Distribution Service Material Inventory]

Much of Waterford’s housing stock was built between the 1950s and 1970s, so older homes there are more prone to aging-pipe maintenance issues. [Charter Township of Waterford — Master Plan, Residential Areas]

Novi

Novi issues plumbing permits through Community Development (45175 Ten Mile Rd; 248-347-0415) with online permits and inspections on BS&A; same-day inspection requests close at 3:30 p.m. [City of Novi — Inspections / Online Portal]

Novi buys water wholesale from GLWA and sends sewage to a county (WRC) interceptor for treatment, setting its own rates. [City of Novi — Water FAQ]

Only part of Novi’s system is on the county WRC list; the city funds operation of the interceptor it drains into. For a sewage backup, call 248-347-0495 in business hours (Police Dispatch 248-348-3088 after hours) and city staff walk you through filing a claim. [City of Novi — Sewage Backup (311)]

No lead service lines were identified in Novi’s water system — the city physically verified 373 lines for its October 2024 inventory. [City of Novi — DSMI]

Novi’s housing skews newer than the older Oakland cities — about 27,380 units in 2020, with building permits peaking between 2000 and 2005 — so lead and clay-pipe problems are rarer here than in Royal Oak. [City of Novi — Master Plan Housing (draft, 2022)]

West Bloomfield

West Bloomfield Township issues building and trade permits through its Building Division (4550 Walnut Lake Rd; 248-451-4818), with online application; a township plumbing inspector reviews private-side service materials. [Charter Township of West Bloomfield — Building, Planning & Development Services]

GLWA supplies West Bloomfield water through seven entry-point vaults; the township Water & Sewer Utilities Department maintains over 370 miles of water main, 300+ miles of sanitary sewer and 23 lift stations. [Charter Township of West Bloomfield — Water & Sewer]

The township runs its own sewer (the county handles conveyance). Under PA 222, a backup claim is reported to the Township Clerk within 45 days; the owner is responsible for the lateral from the home to the township main. [Charter Township of West Bloomfield — Water & Sewer FAQ]

West Bloomfield installs copper from the main to the curb stop and publishes its service-line material inventory and annual water-quality report; the township plumbing inspector approves private-side materials. [Charter Township of West Bloomfield — Water Quality Documents]

Over 70% of West Bloomfield housing was built since 1970, and more than half between 1970 and 1989 — newer stock than the inner-ring Oakland cities, which keeps lead-line risk low. [Charter Township of West Bloomfield — Master Plan (2010)]