Plumbing emergencies in Houston: what to do first

Who to call for what

The fastest fix starts with calling the right party. In Houston, responsibility splits like this:

What you’re seeing	Who to call first
Gas smell, hissing near a gas line or meter	Leave the building on foot. Then call 911 or CenterPoint Energy at 713-659-2111 (or 800-752-8036) from a safe distance.
Downed power line or sparking	911. Treat every downed line as live.
Water bubbling up at the street, a broken city main, or a leak on the city side of the meter	Houston 311 at 713-837-0311.
Burst pipe, leaking water heater or overflowing fixture inside the house	Close your main shutoff if it’s safe, then call a licensed plumber.
Sewage coming up through drains	Stop using water in the house, then call a plumber. If neighbors have the same problem, also report it to 311.
Water or sewer outage in a MUD neighborhood (much of Cypress, Spring, Katy-area subdivisions)	Your municipal utility district’s operator. Its contact is usually on your water bill.

Gas: the one emergency you never handle yourself

CenterPoint’s instructions are clear: leave immediately on foot. Don’t flip light switches, use a lighter, start a car, or use a phone or flashlight near the leak. Don’t turn off the meter or try any valve, and never try to fix a gas leak yourself. Call once you are well away from the area. A plumber may repair gas piping later. Getting out comes first.

Water and electricity

If water is spreading toward outlets, extension cords, appliances or the electrical panel, stay out of it. Don’t wade into a flooded room or garage to reach a shutoff. After a flood, CenterPoint advises having a licensed electrician check the home before you switch the main breaker back on. It also advises having a licensed plumber or gas appliance technician inspect any gas appliance that sat in water, water heater included. During street flooding, Harris County’s standing advice applies: turn around, don’t drown.

Finding your main water shutoff

Most Houston homes have two places to stop the water:

• The house shutoff. Usually a valve where the supply line enters the house. It’s often in the garage, near the water heater, or on an outside wall facing the street.
• The meter-box valve. The Texas Department of Insurance describes the outdoor shutoff as usually being “in an underground space under a cover near the street.”

Learn where yours are before you need them. Only operate a valve you can reach safely and know how to work. Old valves can break when forced. If a valve won’t turn, stop and wait for a plumber.

What counts as an emergency

Call right away, even after hours, for:

• Water you can’t stop, or water near electricity
• Sewage backing up into the house
• No water at all when the city or MUD reports no outage
• A water heater leaking from the tank itself
• Any gas smell (call the gas emergency line, not a plumber)

Usually fine to schedule during business hours:

• A slow drain or one clogged fixture, if other drains work
• A dripping faucet or running toilet
• A water heater that runs out of hot water early but isn’t leaking

After-hours calls often cost more, and some companies publish that their after-hours rate is a multiple of their normal rate. If the water is off and nothing is getting worse, waiting until morning can save money.

What to ask before an emergency plumber is dispatched

1. Is there a trip, after-hours or diagnostic fee, and how much is it? Texas’s plumbing board doesn’t regulate prices, so ask.
2. Who is the responsible master plumber, and what is the license number? The number must be on the company’s service vehicles. You can check it in the state lookup.
3. Roughly when will someone arrive?
4. Will this need a permit? In Houston, pipe repairs generally do. The only fix the city’s winter-storm notice lists as exempt is replacing a kitchen or bathroom faucet.

After the emergency

• Get the paperwork. Keep the invoice. Texas rules require it to show the responsible master plumber’s name and license number.
• Ask about the permit. If your repair replaced pipe, valves or fixtures, Houston requires a permit pulled by a city-registered master plumber, plus an inspection.
• Ask for a leak adjustment. If the leak was from freezing, settlement, corrosion or wear, the City of Houston may credit the lost water. The credit is 100% if you repair it within 30 days, 75% within 60 days, and 50% after that. You’ll need a plumber’s bill or a parts receipt.
• Call your insurer early. Damage from sudden, accidental leaks is often covered, and insurers usually want to know before repairs go too far.

Need a plumber now? The directory lists Houston-area companies with phone numbers taken from their own websites. Its filters include emergency service.