24/7 Emergency Plumber in Santa Clara, CA

A Homeowner’s Guide to Emergency Plumbing in Santa Clara

The first minutes: stop the water

Most of the damage in a plumbing emergency happens before anyone arrives, so find your shutoff now, not when the ceiling is dripping. In Santa Clara it’s the house valve, normally at the front of the house near a hose bib, where the supply pipe comes up from the ground.

• Use the house valve, not the meter valve. The meter and the valve in its box belong to the City. Only City technicians may operate it, and if an occupant or plumber damages it, the property owner pays.
• If your valve is missing or won’t turn, call Water & Sewer Utilities. The City shuts water off and back on at the meter at no charge.
• Then call us at (408) 978-3093, any hour, and we’ll talk you through limiting the damage while a plumber is on the way.

Save both City numbers in your phone: 408-615-2000 on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 408-615-5640 outside business hours.

Sewage backups: let the City look first

When toilets back up, water rises in a tub or shower, or the cleanout in the yard overflows, stop using water and call the City. Its crews check the sewer main and, through the property-line cleanout, the lower lateral, at no charge. If both are flowing, the stoppage is on private property, where City crews can’t work, and that’s when to call a plumber. Keep in mind:

• In Santa Clara the owner’s lateral runs all the way to the main, including the part under the street.
• The City can’t check the lower lateral of a home without a property-line cleanout.
• It can’t reimburse a private plumber’s fee, even if the blockage turns out to be in the main.
• If we clear the line, the City asks you to let it know.

See drain cleaning in Santa Clara for more on cleanouts and clogs.

Gas smells go to PG&E and 911

Santa Clara provides its own electricity, through Silicon Valley Power, along with water and sewer, but PG&E provides gas service. If you smell gas, leave first and call 911 or PG&E from outside. Don’t try to find the leak yourself. After the gas is made safe, a licensed plumber repairs the house piping or the appliance connection.

When the water heater fails

A leaking tank or a relief valve that won’t stop discharging is an emergency: shut off the cold water supply to the heater and its gas or power. Replacing it needs a permit. For a like-for-like swap at a single-family home, duplex or ADU, that’s a Building Simple Permit through the Permitting Online Portal; an automatic check can issue it on the spot, and otherwise approval usually takes one to two business days. Two points often asked about:

• The City’s reach codes apply only to new buildings, so you may replace a gas water heater with a gas one.
• California law requires every replacement water heater to be strapped against earthquakes.

See water heater repair in Santa Clara.

After the repair: the Leak Credit

Water lost to a burst pipe or hidden leak shows up on the next bill. The City’s Leak Credit can cover up to half of the extra use if you fix the leak promptly and apply within two months with repair receipts. The City then watches two billing cycles to confirm your use is back to normal, so the process takes a few months, and you can’t have had a credit in the past 24 months. Keep the plumber’s invoice; it’s your proof of repair.

For our other services in the city, see plumbing in Santa Clara.

Sources

City of Santa Clara Water & Sewer Utilities: Who to Call · Sewer Problem? · Water Conservation: leak detection, shutoff and Leak Credit · Leak Credit Request Application (rev. April 2026). Finance: Finance FAQ. City Code: ch. 13.15 Water, Article I · ch. 13.10 Sewers, definitions. Building Division: Simple Permits · Reach Code. State of California: Health and Safety Code § 19211. Checked November 2026.