Midland, TX Building Safety: Plumbing Permits (2026)

Chapter 4-3 covers 'the safe installation of plumbing and piping in the City' (Sec. 4-3-1) and adopts the 2018 IPC 'as fully as if copied at length' (Sec. 4-3-2). Sec. 4-3-3 amends several IPC sections for Midland: any licensed irrigator or licensed installer under Texas Water Code § 37.001 may connect to a water supply system, but is held to the same regulations, requirements and penalties as a master plumber (amended § 106.1.1(A)). A homeowner may extend, replace, alter or repair the plumbing on his own property himself for his family's exclusive use, but that privilege 'does not convey the right to violate any of the provisions of this Code, nor is it to be construed as exempting any such property owner from obtaining a permit and paying the required fees' (§ 106.1.1(B)).

Repair of a routine under-slab water leak is the one exemption added to the work exempt from permit (§ 106.2). Before engaging in the plumbing business in Midland at all, a person must first hold the required State license and carry $300,000 of insurance under Texas Occupations Code § 1301.552 (added § 106.4.1). Permit and refund fees follow the City's current adopted Fee Schedule (§§ 106.6.2, 106.6.3). Midland also layers on its own technical minimums: building sewers must sit at least 12 inches below grade (§ 305.4.1), drainage and gravity sewer tests must hold a 3-foot head of water for 15 minutes (§§ 312.2, 312.6), and lawn irrigation backflow must be protected by a testable pressure vacuum breaker, double check valve, or reduced-pressure principal backflow preventer (Table 608.1 footnote).

A permit applicant or building owner aggrieved by a Plumbing Inspector or Building Official decision may appeal to the Board of Appeals under the same rules used for Building Code appeals (Sec. 4-3-4).