Home maintenance for Westminster homeowners
Westminster began in 1870 as a Presbyterian temperance colony, incorporated in 1957, and about three quarters of its homes predate 1980. The city pumps its own water, all of it groundwater in the latest report, while sewer and trash belong to a separate agency, the Midway City Sanitary District.
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Home maintenance help in Westminster
Half the homes in Westminster are more than 50 years old, so much of the work here is catching worn pipes, wiring and roofing before they fail. OakTend gives Westminster homeowners free home maintenance help during our preview: add your house once and get a reminder when each check is due.
Homes in Westminster, at a glance
- Population
- About 89,547 peopleACS 2024 one-year estimate, table B01003; the 2020 Census counted 90,911. Source: U.S. Census Bureau
- Median year built
- 1971Source: Census Reporter, ACS 2020-2024 five-year table B25035
Westminster sits close enough to the water to get marine air most mornings, so exterior finishes and outdoor metal age faster than they would inland, though not as fast as they do right on the sand.
When homes were built
- Homes counted
- About 29,269
- Built before 1960
- 22.5%
- Built in the 1960s
- 26.0%
- Built in the 1970s
- 27.3%
- Built in the 1980s
- 8.3%
- Built in the 1990s
- 7.0%
- Built 2000 or later
- 8.9%
About seven in ten homes went up between 1950 and 1979.
Source: Census Reporter, ACS 2020-2024 five-year tables B25034 and B25035
History
The Rev. Lemuel P. Webber founded Westminster in 1870 as the second Presbyterian temperance colony in Orange County, after Anaheim.
Sewer service
The Midway City Sanitary District, serving Westminster and Midway City since 1939, provides wastewater and solid waste service, so a sewer problem at the street goes to the district rather than City Hall.
Source: Midway City Sanitary District
Sewer lines
The district's ordinance says house connections and street laterals are maintained by the owner of the property they serve. It also publishes a financial assistance policy for replacing laterals at single-family homes, with an application on its site.
Source: Midway City Sanitary District, sewer service laterals
Water supply
On average 85 percent of Westminster's drinking water comes from its own wells and 15 percent is imported, but in 2024 the city pumped 100 percent groundwater.
Fire service
The Orange County Fire Authority has served Westminster since 1995 from three stations in the city: Station 64 at 7351 Westminster Boulevard, Station 65 at 6061 Hefley Street and Station 66 at 15061 Moran Street.
Source: City of Westminster, OCFA fire service in Westminster
Real neighborhoods in Westminster
- Little Saigon
- Civic Center
- Westminster Mall area
In the 1970s and 1980s Vietnamese refugees settled in the part of Westminster and Garden Grove known as Little Saigon, and some 500 businesses opened around Bolsa Avenue in the 1980s alone.
Water, permits, and local rules in Westminster
Water
The city runs its own system from Orange County basin wells plus three connections for imported water. In 2024 testing, groundwater hardness averaged 243 ppm, about 14 grains per gallon, with a range of 134 to 363 ppm, wide enough that two addresses can see noticeably different scale.
City of Westminster Water Division · Source: Water quality report
Permits
The Building Division, part of Community Development, issues building permits and business licenses, and the city's Westminster Build page sends applicants to an online self-service portal.
City of Westminster Building Division permit portal · Source: City building division
Flood zones
The county and the Army Corps of Engineers are studying the Westminster watershed, where the East Garden Grove-Wintersburg Channel drains toward Outer Bolsa Bay and the Bolsa Chica Channel, with its Anaheim-Barber City and Westminster Channel tributaries, drains to Huntington Harbour. The county says more than 20,000 property owners across the watershed's cities must carry federal flood insurance.
Wildfire zones
The State Fire Marshal updated its fire hazard maps in 2025. To see whether a zone touches your address, search it on the State Fire Marshal's viewer.
Source: State Fire Marshal, Fire Hazard Severity Zone viewer
What OakTend does
A maintenance plan built around your home
OakTend turns your home's age, systems, and history into a plan of what to check and when, not a generic checklist.
Ask OakTend anything about your house
Get answers about your systems, their ages, and what's likely to need attention next, any time.
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Guides for Westminster homeowners
Sewer line problems in Orange County
The sanitary district leaves the lateral to the owner, on lots mostly built before 1980.
Electrical panel upgrade cost
Signs an original panel in a 1970-era Westminster home is falling behind.
Water heater replacement cost
All-groundwater supply here averages about 14 grains per gallon.
Orange County home maintenance checklist
Clear yard drains before winter storms fill the Wintersburg and Bolsa Chica channels.
Maintenance that matters in Westminster
Repiping a house in Orange County
The median Westminster home was built in 1971. If a house that age has had more than one leak, read when a whole-house repipe makes sense.
How to clean your outdoor AC unit
Marine air near the coast wears out outdoor metal faster, the AC unit included. Clean it each spring.
Nearby cities
Questions from Westminster homeowners
Is Midway City part of Westminster?
No. Midway City is unincorporated county land that Westminster borders. The Midway City page, under Nearby cities, covers what that means for permits and services.
How does Westminster handle water heater, reroof or panel permits?
Plan on a permit for each, since they are permit work across California. Ask the Building Division before work starts whether yours can be issued over the counter or online.
Local facts on this page last checked .