What to Do When a Pipe Bursts: 7 Steps in Order
Shut off the main valve, cut power to wet areas safely, photograph the damage for your insurer and dry out within 24–48 hours. The order that limits burst pipe damage in a Baltimore home.
Baltimore Plumbing Guides
These guides answer the questions Baltimore homeowners and renters ask during a plumbing emergency: how to stop a burst pipe, thaw a frozen one, find the main shut-off valve, read a lead service line letter, handle a meter leak, report a water main break, or deal with a sewage backup, spot a failing cast iron drain, deal with a leak through a shared rowhouse wall, and what repairs cost. Each guide follows Baltimore City DPW, Baltimore County and federal guidance, and lists its sources.
Water is leaking right now? Close the main valve first, then call.
Burst and frozen pipes
What to do in the first hour, and how Baltimore winters freeze pipes.
How to Thaw Frozen Pipes Without Bursting Them
Open the faucet, warm the pipe from the faucet end with a hair dryer or heating pad, and never use an open flame. Step-by-step thawing from Baltimore City DPW and university extension guidance.
How to Prevent Frozen Pipes in a Baltimore Winter
Keep the heat at 55°F or higher, drip the lowest faucet at pencil-lead thickness below freezing, open sink cabinets and shut off outdoor spigots. Baltimore DPW and IBHS steps with BWI climate data.
Where Is Your Main Water Shut-Off Valve?
Find and close the main water valve in a Baltimore rowhouse, apartment or detached house: gate versus ball valves, why the curb vault is off-limits, and how to turn the water back on safely.
When a pipe has already split, see Emergency pipe repair in Baltimore.
Water service lines and meters
Who owns which part of the water line, and what the City’s service line letters mean.
Got a Baltimore Water Service Line Letter? Lead Pipes Explained
What Baltimore DPW’s water service line material letters mean, how to check your pipe with a key and a magnet, which part of the line you own, and the federal lead pipe replacement timeline.
Water Line Leak Between the Meter and the House: Who Pays in Baltimore?
In Baltimore City the owner pays for the water line from the meter into the house. How to test for a hidden leak with DPW’s meter test, who to call for each side, and how to get a bill credit.
Water Main Break in Baltimore: How to Report It and Who Fixes What
Water in the street? Report it to Baltimore City 311. Who owns the main, the line to the meter and the line to your house in Baltimore City and County, and what to do first.
When the line between the meter and the house needs fixing, see water line repair and replacement in Baltimore.
Drains and cast iron pipe
How to tell when an old drain line is failing, and what each warning sign means.
How to Tell If a Cast Iron Drain Pipe Is Failing
Confirm a basement stack is cast iron, check hubs and runs for leaks, rule out a dry trap, clog or water line leak, and read the pipe’s age from its joints.
When the pipe itself has failed, see cast iron drain stack repair for older homes.
Rowhouse plumbing
How plumbing runs through a Baltimore row home, and what happens when a leak crosses a shared wall.
Baltimore Rowhouse Plumbing: How the Lines Run and How Leaks Reach Next Door
Where the water line, drain stack and sewer lateral run in a Baltimore row home, which old pipes give out first, and who pays when a leak soaks the party wall.
For a leak that needs fixing now, see round-the-clock leak repair in Baltimore homes.
Sewer lines and backups
Sewage in the basement: reporting it, cleanup help and the private lateral.
Sewage Backing Up Into Your Basement? What to Do Next
Stop using water, keep children and pets away, report it to 311 or Baltimore County, and document cleanup costs. When Baltimore City DPW pays for cleanup, and who fixes the sewer line.
When the private lateral itself is broken, see broken sewer lateral repair.
Repair costs
Published price ranges for pipe and sewer repairs, with each source named.
How Much Does Burst Pipe Repair Cost?
Burst pipe repairs run $200 to $3,000, about $500 on average (HomeAdvisor (Jun 2026)), before drywall and water damage. Emergency fees, pipe prices by material and what pushes a repair toward the top of the range.
How Much Does Sewer Line Replacement Cost?
Sewer line replacement runs $1,388 to $5,323, about $3,319 on average (HomeAdvisor (Jun 2026)). Dig-and-replace costs $50 to $200 per foot and trenchless $60 to $250 per foot, plus inspection, permits and yard repair.
How Much Does Gas Line Repair Cost?
Gas line repair runs $150 to $700, about $400 on average (Fixr (Aug 2025)). A leak at an appliance costs $120 to $250, one inside a wall $270 to $760, and a buried line adds $1,500 to $5,000 in excavation.
The service page carries the full emergency plumbing cost table.
Need a plumber instead of a guide?
Call to be connected with a licensed plumber for burst pipes and broken sewer lines across Baltimore.
Call (410) 378-7792