Emergency Plumbing in Hendersonville, NC: A Checklist for the First Half Hour

Box 1: stop the water at your own valve

The fastest way to limit damage is your own main shut-off, not the meter. In many Hendersonville houses it is a gate or ball valve where the service line comes through the foundation, often in the crawlspace near the front of the house, in a basement on the wall facing the street, or in a closet beside the water heater. Turn a gate valve clockwise until it stops; turn a ball valve a quarter turn so the handle sits across the pipe.

If there is no valve, or it is seized, the water can be stopped at the meter box. The City's billing policy says the customer side starts at the point where your plumbing connects to the meter box, including a customer shut-off valve connected to it. Meter boxes are City equipment, and the fee schedule lists charges for turning a meter on or off: $47.00 during business hours and $117.50 after hours.

The City's leak adjustments page lists (828) 697-3073 as its emergency leak line. Use it when you cannot stop the water yourself or the leak is on the street side of the meter.

Box 2: make the house safe

Water and electricity are the real emergency. If water has reached outlets, a panel, a furnace or a water heater's controls, switch those circuits off at the breaker panel, but only if you can reach the panel standing on a dry floor. If you cannot, leave the house and call for help.

For a gas water heater that has been flooded, do not relight it. Shut the gas valve on the supply line and let a plumber or the gas company look at it. For an electric unit, turn off its breaker. A water heater that sat in water can have damaged controls even if it looks fine once things dry out.

Open cabinet doors and move rugs, boxes and anything stored on the floor. In winter, a burst line in a crawlspace often means other lines nearby are frozen too, so check the rest of the house before assuming one break is the only one.

Box 3: photograph before anything is cleaned up

Take pictures of the leak itself, the pipe or fitting that failed, the water on the floor and any damage to walls, ceilings and belongings. Then take a photo of your water meter dial with the date visible on your phone. That gives you a reading to compare against once the repair is done.

These photos serve two purposes. Insurance adjusters want to see the damage before it is removed. The City's 2026 leak adjustment policy also allows owners who make their own repairs to qualify only if they send receipts for parts and pictures of the leak site before repair and after completion.

If a plumber makes the repair, the policy instead requires an invoice from a licensed plumber with a statement that the leak was repaired and a description of where it occurred. Ask the plumber to write that on the invoice before they leave. The leak adjustment checklist lists the full rules.

Box 4: call a plumber and describe it clearly

When you call, give the plumber the same facts a dispatcher would want: where the leak is, whether the water is off, whether the house has city water or a well, whether it is a supply line or a drain, and whether anyone has already tried a repair. That lets them bring the right parts on the first trip.

Ask for the price structure on the phone: whether there is a trip or service charge, whether after-hours work carries a different rate, and whether the quote will be written before work starts. Those are the plumber's prices, and they vary, so it is fair to ask.

If the repair changes the design of the plumbing, such as rerouting a line or replacing a section of drain, Henderson County's permit FAQ says a plumbing permit is required. The permit checklist covers when a permit applies and what it costs.

Box 5: after the repair, start the clock

Once the leak is fixed, three deadlines start. The City's 2026 leak policy gives you 90 days after the leak is corrected, as determined by City staff, to submit a Leak Adjustment Request Form. The next water bill is due 20 calendar days from its billing date under the billing policy that took effect on October 1, 2026. And if a permit was pulled, the county inspection needs to happen before the permit expires.

Read the meter again a few hours after the repair with every fixture off. If the dial still moves, there is another leak. The City says it must be able to verify that abnormal usage has stopped before it processes an adjustment, so a second leak can hold up the first request.

Finally, think about the valve that failed you. If the main shut-off was hard to find or would not close, the City's conservation program offers a rebate of up to $300.00 for a customer-side shut-off valve, one per account. The rebate checklist shows how it fits with the other rebates.

When the problem is a drain, not a supply line

Sewage backing up into a tub or floor drain is a different emergency. Stop using water in the house, because every flush and every load of laundry adds to the backup. Keep children and pets away from the water, and do not use chemical drain openers on a main line backup.

A backup that affects several fixtures at once usually points to a blockage in the building drain or the sewer lateral rather than a single fixture. The drain cleaning checklist explains how to tell the difference and what to ask before a plumber runs a cable or a camera.

If your property is on a septic system rather than City or Metropolitan Sewer District sewer, mention it when you call. The fix, and who you call after the plumber, can be different.

Checked against: City of Hendersonville, NC: Leak Adjustments; City of Hendersonville, NC: 2026 Leak Adjustment Policy (PDF); City of Hendersonville, NC: Fee Schedule (water, sewer, meter, rebate and billing fees); City of Hendersonville, NC: Utility Billing Policy (effective October 1, 2026); Henderson County, NC Permits & Inspections: Frequently-Asked Questions. Checked 2026-10-30.