24/7 Emergency Plumber in Sunnyvale, CA

A Homeowner’s Guide to Emergency Plumbing in Sunnyvale

First: stop the water

The City of Sunnyvale delivers water to most homes, though a few pockets of the city are served by California Water Service (Cal Water) instead; your water bill says which. For City customers:

• Find your shutoff now. The City says it’s typically at the front of the house, near a hose bib. Turn it once a year so it isn’t seized when you need it.
• If you can’t find it or it won’t close, call the City’s 24-hour line, 408-730-7400.
• Know where the City’s pipe ends. The City maintains the mains in the street; the pipe from the meter to the house is the owner’s, and so is any leak in it.

Then call us at (408) 978-3093, day or night. While you wait, keep away from water near outlets, fixtures or the panel, and move belongings out of its path. See burst pipe repair.

Sewer backups: the City’s line comes first

When toilets back up, dirty water comes into a tub, or the cleanout in the front yard overflows, Sunnyvale asks you to call its Sewer Response Service, 408-730-7400, before anyone else, and to stop using water until the source is found. The City says it responds within two hours and helps identify whether the main or your line is at fault. Laterals are generally the owner’s, though in some cases where a property-line cleanout is installed the City clears a lower-lateral blockage as a courtesy.

If the clog is on your side, we clear it from the cleanout. See drain cleaning in Sunnyvale for roots, grease and backwater valves.

Gas smells and failed water heaters

The City’s 24-hour line handles water, sewer and storm drain problems, not gas; its phone directory lists PG&E for gas and power (customer service 800-743-5000, outages 800-743-5002) and 911 for fire emergencies. If you smell gas, leave first and call from outside.

For a leaking water heater, shut off its cold water supply and its gas or power. Sunnyvale’s replacement rules, from the City’s handout:

• A plumbing permit is required before the heater is replaced, through E-OneStop or the One-Stop Permit Center.
• Two seismic straps (more on larger tanks), and a relief valve drain to the outside.
• A gas heater in a garage is raised so its controls are at least 18 inches above the floor, unless it’s listed as flammable vapor ignition resistant.
• Under the 2025 Energy Code, the replacement may be gas or a heat pump. Reach codes the City approved for existing homes, enforced from the end of 2026, add electric-ready requirements when permitted electrical work is done near gas equipment.

Silicon Valley Clean Energy’s Emergency Water Heater Replacement program helps owners of homes with up to four units whose gas water heater has failed or is failing. It works through SVCE’s own partner contractors and is free for income-qualified households. See water heaters in Sunnyvale.

After the repair

• Permits for the permanent fix. Replacing the water line from the meter, the pipes inside the house or the sewer line takes a City plumbing permit; work in the street or sidewalk adds a Public Works encroachment permit.
• The leak adjustment. Water lost to a repaired leak can be billed at a reduced leak rate once the City approves an application with proof of repair, limited to one billing cycle per year.

For our other services in the city, see plumbing in Sunnyvale.

Sources

City of Sunnyvale: Water · Sewer · Phone Directory · Utility Billing · FY 26-27 Utility Fee Schedule · Permits · Residential water heater replacement · Residential water/sewer pipes brochure (rev. 1/2026) · Report to Council 25-0762 (Aug. 12, 2025). Sunnyvale Municipal Code: Chapter 12.34, Water Conservation Restrictions. Silicon Valley Clean Energy: Emergency Water Heater Replacement. Checked November 2026.