Burst Pipe? What to Do Right Now in Arizona

Step one: the shutoff at the house

On most East Valley homes the main shutoff sits on the supply line where it comes up out of the ground, usually near the front hose bib or along the side of the house, sometimes inside the garage where the line enters. It's a lever handle or a round wheel handle on a pipe that's about an inch across.

A lever handle is a ball valve. Turn it a quarter turn so the handle sits crosswise to the pipe. That's off. A round wheel is a gate valve. Turn it clockwise until it stops. Don't force it past that. Older gate valves stick, and if yours won't budge, move to step two rather than snapping the stem.

If you read nothing else here, go find your valve today. Take a picture of it. Send the picture to everyone who lives in the house. It takes a minute and it's the single most useful thing on this page.

Step two: the meter box

If the house valve is stuck or you can't find it, the water meter box is near the sidewalk or curb out front, under a rectangular lid. Inside, on the street side of the meter, there's a valve. Some take a curb key, which is a long T handle you can buy at a hardware store. Some turn with an adjustable wrench. Turn it a quarter turn so the slot or the tab sits crosswise to the pipe.

Two things to know. First, the meter and everything up to it belong to the city. Chandler puts it plainly: plumbing up to and including the meter is the city's, everything after it is yours. Second, the cities will help. Chandler says it will send someone to shut off and restore service at no charge during normal business hours, with a $27 charge after hours. Mesa's water emergency line is 480-644-2262. Gilbert's after hours water leak line is 480-503-6500. If water is pouring into your house, do what you have to do at the meter and tell the city afterward. If you have a few minutes, call them and let them do it.

The next ten minutes

Open the lowest faucet in the house, usually a hose bib or a tub, and let the lines drain. That stops the pressure that's still pushing water out of the break.

If water is anywhere near outlets, a power strip, or the panel, kill the breakers for that part of the house before you walk through it. If the water heater is in the flood zone, shut off its gas valve or its breaker.

Move what you can off the floor. If it's a ceiling leak, poke a small hole in the lowest point of the bulge and let it drain into a bucket instead of letting the drywall come down on its own.

Take photos of everything before you clean up. The Insurance Information Institute lists sudden and accidental discharge of water from a plumbing system as a covered peril on standard homeowners policies, and photos are what make that claim go smoothly.

Then call. Our line is answered 24/7. Tell us the water is off and what you saw. We'll tell you whether it can wait until morning at daytime pricing or whether we should roll now.

Why pipes let go here

We don't get many freezes, so the burst pipes we see are mostly pressure and age. A pressure regulator that's failed lets the full street pressure into the house, and the weakest fitting finds out. Old water heater flex lines, worn washing machine hoses, and copper that's been pinholing under the slab for a year are the usual suspects. Monsoon season, June 15 through September 30 by the National Weather Service calendar, is when we get the after hours calls, and it's usually a line that was marginal all summer.

If you've had one burst, have the pressure checked. It's a cheap test and it's often the actual cause.