PSA: Central Texas Plumbing Line Breaks

We hope that you’re staying safe & warm. We wanted to share a piece of information received that we hope you find helpful.

A fellow agent’s pipes burst in his attic late yesterday when power was restored at his house. Luckily, he was home and was able to turn off the water main to avoid a disaster. (See below – this ran for <30 minutes.)

PSA for fellow Texans: make plans now to be home today (Thursday) & tomorrow (Friday) when temperatures rise above freezing. If you have frozen pipes, they will begin to thaw when temperatures rise above freezing, or if your power is restored and your home begins heating again. If that happens, your now cracked pipes will begin to flood your home.

Locate your water shut-off valve, which is usually under a lid near the street. And have the proper tools (channel locks or water valve shut-off tool) ready for closing the main water shutoff valve (usually 180 degrees clockwise) if you start to flood. Minutes saved could save thousands of dollars in damage.

Bear in mind that many shut off valves are difficult to locate. They will generally be ~5′ from the street in between your home and one of your neighbors. Many of these valves are frozen or rusted and very difficult to shut off. If you are unable to locate your shut-off valve or if you are unable to shut it off, then contact your water provider’s emergency line. They are experiencing extremely high volume, so be prepared to wait.

Most local plumbers are not working right now due to unsafe road conditions. If you have experienced a water break, it’s in your best interest to call your insurance company, as well as plumbers to get in the queue for repair. Plumbers that we’re speaking with are planning to start work on Friday, if weather forecasts are correct (since roads should be safe by then.) It might make sense to post on Nextdoor to see if any of your neighbors are plumbers, since travel is a major problem to solve for faster repairs.

We very much hope that everyone is staying safe.