Emergency water shutoff | Llave de paso de agua de emergencia (Spanish) | 緊急切斷水源 (Chinese) | Ngắt nước khẩn cấp (Vietnamese) | إیقاف المیاه في حالات الطوارئ (Arabic) | Аварийное отключение воды (Russian)
What you can do to prevent frozen pipes at home
Start to prepare your plumbing for winter before temperatures dip below freezing.
- Learn where your water shutoff valve is and how to use it so you can respond quickly if your pipes break during cold weather.
- Disconnect hoses from outdoor faucets. Insulate all outdoor faucets and hose bibs with molded-foam hose bib covers (available at most hardware stores) or with newspaper or rags covered with plastic wrap.
- If you have a separate outdoor water shutoff valve, turn off water to outdoor faucets. After you turn off the water, open each outdoor spigot to drain the remaining water from the pipes.
- Caulk around pipes where they enter the building.
- Close all foundation vents and fill vent openings with wood or foam blocks.
- Insulate pipes in unheated areas, such as attics, crawl spaces, and basements.
- If you leave home for several days, keep your heat on a low setting instead of turning it off. This may not prevent freezing pipes, but it can help.
- Start building your emergency water supply in case your water service is interrupted by frozen or burst pipes. Learn how to store emergency water.
When temperatures are below freezing, you can also:
- Open cupboard doors in the kitchen and bathrooms. This allows these pipes to get more heat from inside your home.
- Turn your faucets on to let a slight drip of water run.
Additional guidance for commercial and multifamily properties
In addition to the steps outlined above, managers of commercial and multifamily properties may need to take extra steps to protect plumbing systems.
- Turn off and drain automatic sprinkler systems following the manufacturer’s instructions. Add insulation to special components, such as backflow assembly devices and the irrigation system’s main shutoff valve.
- Note: Blowing out sprinkler lines with compressed air can cause severe injury, so this winterization method is best performed by a qualified and licensed contractor.
- Water-using equipment can be damaged if not winterized properly. Examples of equipment that may need special attention are swamp coolers; cooling towers; outdoor pools, spas, and other water features; and fire sprinkler systems.
- Backflow assembly devices must be protected from severe environmental conditions.
- During and after freezing weather, inspect all piping systems and water-using equipment on a regular basis to check for damage.
- Show staff how to shut off water in an emergency.
- For landlords and property managers: consider sending your tenants guidance on how to protect their pipes and what to do if their pipes freeze or break.
What to do if your pipes freeze
If some of your faucets are working and others are not, you may have a frozen pipe.
- Use a hair dryer or heat lamp to safely thaw frozen pipes.
- Once the pipe has thawed, leave a little water running so the pipe doesn’t freeze again.
- Do NOT open the water meter box near the curb. It could increase the chance of freezing water at the meter.
What to do if your pipes break
- Close your main water shutoff valve. Most shutoff valves are located where the water line enters the house, either at the front of your house where you connect your hose, in the basement near the hot water heater, or inside the garage. Some older homes and manufactured homes do not have water shutoff valves.
- If you live in an apartment or multifamily building, you may not be able to access your shutoff valve. Contact your property manager to shut off the water.
- If you can’t shut off your own water or reach your property manager, call our 24-hour emergency dispatch line at 503-823-4874 to request an emergency water shutoff.
- After shutting off your water, turn off your water heater by locating the dedicated shutoff valve on the pipe where cold water enters the water heater. Then, turn on all your faucets and flush your toilets to reduce the pressure from the burst pipe.
- Contact a plumber or your property manager for repair work. Repairing broken pipes on the customer’s side of the meter is the property owner’s responsibility.
- After the leak is repaired, customers can request a bill adjustment due to the leak. For more information on leak adjustments, contact our Customer Service staff by phone at 503-823-7770 or email at PWBCustomerService@portlandoregon.gov.
Identifying and reporting main breaks
Just like your household pipes, water mains (pipes) are more likely to break during colder weather.
If you observe water running from streets or sidewalks, report the leak to the Water Bureau's 24-hour Emergency Line at 503-823-4874.
Our crews are ready to respond to emergencies like water main breaks 24-hours a day, seven days a week.
Additional resources
- Winter weather information from other City bureaus
- Learn more about emergency water shutoff valves
- More tips for winterizing your plumbing from the Regional Water Providers Consortium
- Tips for preparing for winter weather from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
- Learn how to create an emergency drinking water supply