A burst pipe can put a lot of water on the floor very quickly. The steps below follow the advice of city water utilities and emergency agencies, in roughly the order you should take them. If nothing has gone wrong yet, spend two minutes today finding your shut-off valve so you are not hunting for it later.
Minute 1: close the main shut-off valve
Stopping the water comes first. Bellevue, Washington Utilities says that if a pipe breaks, you should immediately close the main shut-off valve to stop excessive flooding. Hillsboro, Oregon’s water department says the emergency shut-off is usually in the basement, garage, crawl space or under the home, and you close it by turning the handle to the right until it is snug.
Bellevue adds that the valve is often outdoors by the foundation, near the front faucet, and Philadelphia Water points homeowners to the house-side valve near the water meter. If you rent or live in a multi-unit building, the Portland Water Bureau advises contacting your property manager to shut off the water.
Minute 2: deal with the water heater
Philadelphia Water says that if the break is in a hot water pipe, close the valve on top of the water heater. The Portland Water Bureau also advises turning off the water heater and closing the dedicated shut-off valve on its cold-water inlet.
Minutes 2 to 3: stay away from wet electrical equipment
Water and electricity together are the biggest danger in a flooded room. Ready.gov warns: do not touch electrical equipment if it is wet or if you are standing in water. It advises turning off the electricity to prevent shock only if it is safe to do so. If getting to the electrical panel means walking through water, do not do it.
Minutes 3 to 5: drain the lines
Closing the main does not empty the pipes. Hillsboro advises turning on all of your faucets and flushing your toilets to drain the rest of the water from your pipes, which reduces the pressure from the burst pipe.
Minutes 5 to 7: find the break and limit the damage
Follow the water to where it is coming from, and note the spot for the plumber. Bellevue lists outdoor faucets and pipes in unheated attics, garages and crawl spaces as the most vulnerable to freezing, so check those areas first after a cold night.
Move what you can out of the water. The Texas Office of Public Insurance Counsel says to clean and dry areas that got wet, but until your insurance company has seen the damage, only make repairs that are necessary for safety or to protect your property from more damage.
Minutes 7 to 9: photograph everything
Hillsboro recommends taking pictures of the damage with your phone or camera for your landlord or insurance claim before doing any cleanup. The Texas Office of Public Insurance Counsel advises making a list of the damage, taking pictures or videos, contacting your agent or insurance company as soon as possible, and saving itemized receipts for temporary repairs. Whether a burst pipe is covered depends on your policy, so check your policy or ask your insurer.
Minute 10: call a licensed plumber
Hillsboro and Philadelphia Water both tell homeowners to contact a licensed plumber to make repairs. Your water utility is usually not the one to fix it: Philadelphia Water says it is not responsible for your plumbing, and the Portland Water Bureau says repairing broken pipes on the customer’s side of the meter is the property owner’s responsibility. Our plumbing emergency page explains what to tell the plumber, and you can find a plumber by city.
When to call the water utility
If you cannot find the shut-off, or it will not close, the next step is the valve at the meter or the street.
- Bellevue says that in an emergency you can also turn off your water at the shut-off valve in the meter box, and to call the utility if you suspect the meter is frozen.
- Lincoln Water System in Nebraska explains that the curb stop is generally near the property line. If the valve at the meter fails, it asks customers to call so the utility can shut the water off at the stop box.
- The Portland Water Bureau runs a 24-hour emergency dispatch line to request an emergency water shut-off, but warns that a high volume of requests during storms can affect response times.
Look up your own utility’s emergency number now and save it in your phone. Portland also lets customers request a bill adjustment after a leak is repaired, so ask your utility whether it offers something similar.
Before the next cold snap
If a pipe has frozen but not burst, the Red Cross advises keeping the faucet open and never using a blowtorch or other open flame to thaw it. Our frozen pipes guide covers thawing, and the first-freeze checklist covers the prevention steps that keep this from happening in the first place.
Related guides
Sources
- City of Bellevue, WA Utilities – Prevent frozen pipes and if one breaks
- City of Hillsboro, OR Water – Water alert (frozen or broken water pipes)
- Philadelphia Water Department – Cold weather solutions
- Portland Water Bureau – What to do if water pipes freeze, leak or burst
- Lincoln Water System, NE – Frequently asked questions
- Ready.gov – Floods
- Texas Office of Public Insurance Counsel – Recovering from winter weather
- American Red Cross – Frozen pipes
Published October 26, 2026 by the Plumbers Pages editorial team. General information, not professional advice. More from the blog · Editorial policy
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