Plumber in Hempstead, NYEmergency Plumbing, Drains, Water Heaters & Backflow

Old village, mixed housing.

English settlers arrived in 1644, making Hempstead the oldest English settlement in what's now Nassau County. In 1853 it became the first incorporated village in the Town of Hempstead, according to Wikipedia. Today it has about 59,000 people in 3.7 square miles, roughly 15,000 per square mile, almost four times the density of Garden City next door.

The Census Bureau's latest five-year survey counts about 18,700 homes. Only 44% are single-family detached houses, and another 44% are in buildings with five or more units. Only 47% are owner-occupied. 19% were built before 1940 and 55% before 1960, with a median year built of 1958. 72% heat with utility gas and 14% with oil.

In practice that means a lot of two-families, older apartment buildings and landlord-owned houses. Shared drain stacks are common, so one unit's grease or wipes can back up a whole line. Older buildings often have a mix of original and patched piping. We clear the blockage from the right cleanout and tell you what's causing it.

Call the village sewer crew first. It's free.

The village's own FAQ says that if your sewer backs up, call the Village of Hempstead Sewer Department before a plumber, at no charge. Its Water and Sewer Department maintains the sewer collection mains. If they find the main is clear and the problem is in your building's line, that's when to call us at (631) 644-2084. If sewage has come up through a floor drain because the street main backed up, a backwater (sewer check) valve on your building's sewer line is designed to stop that. It's a different device from the backflow preventer on your water line. We install backwater valves.

Your water: the Village of Hempstead Water Department.

The village pumps its own water from nine wells, 365 to 535 feet deep in the Magothy aquifer. It serves about 8,800 metered connections through 93 miles of mains, according to its 2025 Annual Water Supply Report. The raw water is acidic and some wells run high in iron. The village adds caustic soda for corrosion control and phosphates to keep iron from staining fixtures. It also aerates water and runs three air-stripping towers for volatile organics, and uses green-sand filters for iron at two wells. The report is direct about the open issue. 1,4-dioxane tested at 0.085–14.2 parts per billion, above New York's limit of 1. The village operates under a state deferral while it builds advanced oxidation treatment for seven wells. One well is held out of service for PFAS. If you want a home filter in the meantime, choose one certified for the specific contaminant you care about. We'll install it, and we won't oversell it.

Permits and licensing are village matters.

The village FAQ says the Building Department only covers properties inside village limits. Homes outside them, like West Hempstead, go to the Town of Hempstead. Village code says only a master plumber licensed by the village (or a holder of a recognized Tri-Town reciprocal license) may install, alter or repair plumbing. The village also bans living space in cellars and basements. Only a rec room, bathroom, laundry and furnace room are allowed, with permits. And a backflow device on your water line must be inspected and tested every year under state law.