Look for the shutoff valve where the water line enters your house, usually near the meter or in a garage, crawl space, or basement. It is a ball valve or gate valve on a pipe. Turn it clockwise until it stops. The water inside your house will stop flowing.
Go to a faucet in your kitchen or bathroom and turn it on. Let water run out for a few seconds. This drains the pressure in the pipes and reduces the leak.
Use a flashlight to follow the pipe and find where it is leaking or burst. Place towels or a bucket under it to catch water and keep it off walls, floors, or insulation. Take a photo with your phone to show the plumber.
A burst pipe will not repair itself. Water will continue to leak into walls and crawl spaces until the pipe is fixed or replaced. Same-day repair stops the damage.
Pipes burst or leak because of corrosion, age, high water pressure, or sometimes a fitting that was not installed tight enough. In Santa Cruz, homes built in the 1960s and 70s often have galvanized steel pipe that has corroded from the inside out. You might see a leak for weeks as a small drip, and then one day the pipe fails completely. Copper and PVC pipes last longer, but they can still develop leaks from vibration, thermal stress, or a bad connection.
A burst pipe is a plumbing emergency. Water can flow through the leak at ten to twenty gallons per minute. That water goes into your walls, crawl space, or foundation, where it causes rot, mold, and structural damage. Drywall and insulation absorb water and never fully dry. The longer the pipe leaks before it is shut off, the more damage spreads.
A plumber will cut out the burst section and install a new piece of pipe, or replace the whole run if there are multiple weak spots. If the pipe is galvanized, they will often recommend replacing all of it in that area to prevent future bursts. If it is copper or PVC, a single repair usually works. This takes an hour or two, but it saves you thousands of dollars in water damage, mold remediation, and structural repair.
Describe what you're seeing to a real Santa Cruz plumber: call (831) 555-0115 or send the form. Free, no obligation.