A pipe has burst, or water is pouring out somewhere
- Find the main shutoff valve — usually where the line enters the house, or at the water meter — and close it fully.
- If there is a valve just for that fixture (under a sink, behind a toilet, at a hose bib) and it is easier to reach than the main, close that instead.
- Move what you can out of the water’s path.
If the water is anywhere near an outlet, a panel, or a plugged-in appliance, stay out of it — do not reach across standing water for a switch. The shutoff buys time, not a repair; a burst pipe does not fix itself.
A drain is backing up, or a toilet is overflowing
- Stop using every drain and toilet in the house until it is looked at — one backed-up line can push into another fixture.
- If a toilet is overflowing, close the shutoff valve at its 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 and do not try to clear it yourself — sewage contact is a health hazard, not a cleanup job, and the call is the next step.
No water at all, or water is bubbling up in the yard
- Check whether it is just your house — a widespread outage is the city’s, not yours.
- If you know where the shutoff valve is where the line enters the house, note it for when we arrive. Most homeowners cannot find or safely turn the curb stop at the property line, and that is fine — it is not expected of you.
- If you can see where water is surfacing on your property, keep clear of it. Ground undermined by a broken line can give way without warning.
Nothing below grade, and nothing at the meter pit or curb stop, is homeowner work — a water main under pressure moves a lot of ground fast. Stay back from the wet spot and call.
Water is coming up through the floor, or the basement is flooding
- 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, a sump pit, and anything below grade are not homeowner work, even once the water looks like it is going down — call before anyone goes back down there. If the water is anywhere near live outlets, stay out of it.