Grange PlumbingIntro
A burst water main doesn't wait for a convenient moment. Water bubbling up through the lawn, pouring across the drive, or soaking through a wall spreads fast — and the first ten minutes decide how much damage it does and how much the repair ends up costing. Here's exactly what to do, in order.
1. Find your stop tap and turn it off
Your internal stop tap is usually under the kitchen sink, in a downstairs toilet, or where the water pipe enters the house. Turn it clockwise until it stops. This cuts water to the house but — important — it won't stop a leak on the supply pipe outside, between the boundary and your home.
For that you need the outside stop valve, usually under a small metal or plastic cover in the pavement or at your property boundary. It may need a long-handled stop tap key to turn. If you can't find or turn it, don't force it — a seized valve can snap.
Sussex tip: in many older properties around East Grinstead and Haywards Heath, the outside valve hasn't been touched in decades and is seized solid. If yours won't budge, go straight to step 2.
2. Call the right people
Leak on the pavement side of your boundary? That's the water company's pipe and their responsibility. Call their leak line — for most of our area that's South East Water or Southern Water, and they treat visible bursts as emergencies.
Leak on your side of the boundary? The supply pipe is the homeowner's responsibility. That's where a water main specialist comes in. We answer on 07894 956041 and treat active bursts as same-day priority across East Grinstead, Crawley, Haywards Heath and the surrounding Sussex and Surrey villages.
Not sure whose side it's on? Take a photo, note where the water is surfacing, and call either — a decent plumber or the water company will tell you honestly whose problem it is.
3. Protect what you can
While you wait:
• Move anything valuable away from the water's path, especially at floor level.
• If water is near electrics or sockets, don't touch it — switch off the affected circuit at the consumer unit if it's safe to reach.
• Open a downstairs tap to drain pressure from the system once the stop tap is off.
• Take photos and a video of the water, where it's coming from, and any damage. Your insurer will want them, and they help us diagnose before we arrive.
4. Don't run the water "to see if it's still leaking"
It's tempting to turn things back on to check. Every minute the supply is live, water is washing away the ground under your drive, path or foundations. Leave it off until the pipe is inspected.
What happens next?
A burst supply pipe usually means one of two fixes: a spot repair (if the pipe is otherwise sound) or a full replacement of the supply pipe. On older lead, iron or blue MDPE pipes that have already failed once, replacement is nearly always the better-value call — one burst is rarely the last.
The good news: replacement no longer means digging a trench through your garden. We use moling — a trenchless technique that pulls a new pipe underground from a small entry pit — so most water mains are replaced in a single day with the lawn and drive intact.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who pays for a burst water main — me or the water company?
It depends where the burst is. Pipes on the public side of your property boundary are the water company's responsibility. The supply pipe from your boundary to the house belongs to the homeowner. See Who Is Responsible for the Water Supply Pipe? for the full breakdown.
Is a burst water main covered by home insurance?
Often partially — many policies include "trace and access" cover, which pays to find and reach the leak, though not always the pipe repair itself. Check your policy wording.
How quickly can a burst supply pipe be fixed?
An emergency spot repair can often be done the same day. A full trenchless replacement is typically completed in one day once the route is surveyed.
How do I know if the leak is on my supply pipe?
Classic signs: water surfacing between the boundary and the house, a spinning water meter with everything switched off, or a sudden drop in pressure. Our leak detection service pinpoints the leak without digging.
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