Water bubbling up in the yard, or a soggy patch that will not dry
- Stay off the wet ground — a waterline failing underneath it can undermine it without warning.
- If you know where the main shutoff is (where the line enters the house, or at the meter) and it turns by hand, close it to stop feeding the leak.
- Note exactly where the water is surfacing — the spot on top is rarely straight above the break underneath.
Nothing below grade is homeowner work — the ground itself is doing something unpredictable. Stay off the wet spot and call.
An active break — water pouring from the ground or the meter, pressure dropping fast
- Close the main shutoff — usually where the line enters the house, or at the water meter.
- If the break is near the street or a driveway, keep vehicles and people back from the wet ground and any hole.
- If you cannot find or turn the shutoff, that is normal — most homeowners cannot safely operate the curb stop at the property line, and it is not expected of you.
An active break does not wait for a scheduled visit — it is what an emergency crew is for. Stay back from the wet ground and call.
A sewer line backing up, or slow drains all through the house
- Stop using every drain and toilet until it is looked at — pushing more water through a blocked line just forces it up somewhere else.
- If a toilet is the one backing up, close its shutoff valve at the base (it turns by hand, usually behind or beside the bowl).
- Keep everyone, especially kids and pets, away from the water.
Once sewage is involved, that is the end of the safe list. Do not touch it or try to clear it yourself — that is what the camera and the call are for.
The basement is flooding, or water is tracking in along the foundation
- If there is a sump pump and it is not running, check that it is plugged in and the breaker has not tripped — reset that breaker once.
- From dry ground, unplug what you can reach. Do not step into standing water to reach an outlet or a plugged-in appliance.
- A photo of the waterline on the wall before it recedes helps us, and your insurer, see how high it got.
A crawlspace and anything below grade — where the actual failure usually is — are not homeowner work, even once the water looks like it is going down. Call before anyone goes back down there.