A Temple Terrace address does not tell you who sends the water bill. The City of Temple Terrace runs its own water utility and collects sewage inside city limits, but on the county's service-area map about 11% of the sample points inside the city land in a City of Tampa water area. The unincorporated neighborhoods next door are served by Hillsborough County or by Tampa. So the first job in any water or sewer emergency is working out whose pipe it is.
Step 1: Find Out Who Your Provider Is
The name on your water bill is the fastest answer. If you do not have a bill handy, the county publishes a utility service-area map you can search by address. Pay extra attention if you live near the seam between the city and Tampa; Raintree and the east half of Riverside are two places where the line is worth confirming. Two neighbors on the same street can occasionally have different water utilities.
| Utility | Typically serves | Phone |
|---|---|---|
| City of Temple Terrace | Most addresses inside city limits, plus a few pockets with Temple Terrace mailing addresses | Main 813-506-6400; water questions 813-506-6570; after-hours water, sewer and street emergencies 813-506-6590 |
| Hillsborough County Water Resources | Most unincorporated neighbors to the north, west and east | Customer service 813-307-1000; after-hours water and sewer 813-744-5600 |
| City of Tampa | Tampa addresses and a belt of unincorporated land such as the USF area | 813-274-8811 (24/7); sewer emergency 813-247-3451 |
Step 2: Decide Which Side of the Meter It Is On
As a general rule, the utility handles the main in the street and the meter. Pipe from the meter into the house belongs to the property owner. Tampa's 2025 water quality report states that for its customers; the city and county publish their own terms, so confirm with them instead of assuming. These symptoms usually point one way or the other:
- Call the utility first: water bubbling up in the street or around the meter box, low pressure or no water on the whole block, brown water at several houses, sewage rising out of a manhole.
- Call a plumber first: a soggy patch between the meter and the house, a fixture that stopped working, pressure that is low only inside, one drain that will not clear, a water heater that leaks.
One quick test settles the gray area. Turn every fixture off, then look at the meter's small leak indicator. If it keeps moving, water is escaping somewhere downstream of the meter, which is yours to chase. Our leak detection service prices that at $200–$450, credited toward the repair.
Sewer Backups: House Side or Street Side?
Inside the city, Public Works runs the gravity mains, force mains and lift stations. A backup in one fixture while the rest of the house drains normally is almost always a clog in that fixture's branch line, which is ordinary drain cleaning. Several drains backing up together, a gurgling toilet when the washer drains, or sewage showing at a manhole in the street changes the picture.
In that case stop running water and call the utility's emergency line while you call us. A camera run from the cleanout shows whether the stoppage sits on the house side. If the footage puts it farther down than your cleanout, hand the video to the utility; it is the best evidence you can give them.
What to Have Ready When You Call Anyone
Whichever number you dial, the same details speed things up: the service address, the name on the account, what you see and where, when it started and whether neighbors are affected. A photo of the meter box or the wet spot helps. If you have shut a valve, say which one. Utility dispatchers triage by how many properties a problem touches, so mentioning that the next house is dry, or flooded, moves your call up the list.
Where a Plumber's Job Starts and Stops
We handle everything from the meter inward: leaks, fixtures, water heaters, repiping and clearing the lines inside your property. We do not repair main-side breaks or meters, since those belong to the utility. Digging up a sewer line or lining it goes to a licensed underground utility contractor, and septic tanks, well pumps and gas lines are outside what we list. When a problem is not ours, we say so on the phone. The Temple Terrace plumber cost guide shows what the house-side work usually costs.
If water is actively running and you cannot find the cause, closing the main shutoff valve at the house stops the flow and buys you time; the emergency plumbing repairs page covers what we do next. Homeowners in Temple Terrace Riverside and neighboring Tampa addresses see the boundary question more often than most.
Can't tell whose side it is?
Give us the address and describe what you see. We will say whether it sounds like a utility problem or a house-side one before anyone drives out.
CALL 813-733-7188Utility Boundary Questions We Hear
No. Most addresses inside city limits use the City of Temple Terrace, but a share of points near the boundary fall in Tampa water areas, and unincorporated addresses with a Temple Terrace mailing address may be served by the county or Tampa. Check your bill or the county's service-area map.
That stretch normally belongs to the utility, so call the utility that sends your bill. If the meter's leak indicator is spinning with everything off, the loss is downstream of the meter, and that is a plumber's job.
The city's Utilities page lists 813-506-6590 for after-hours water, sewer and street emergencies. Use it for problems in the street or at a manhole. A leaking water heater or a clogged toilet is a house-side call to us.
We can usually narrow it down from your address and the bill, but the utility is the authority on its own service area. If you are near the city-Tampa seam, confirm with the utility before you rely on any phone number.