Make it safe in the next five minutes
Water everywhere
Turn off the water at the stop tap by your meter. If water is near power points or appliances, switch off at the switchboard only if you can reach it without standing in water.
Sewage coming up
Stop using taps, toilets and appliances that drain. Keep children and pets away from the overflow.
Smell of gas
Don't use switches, flames or phones near the smell. Get everyone outside, then follow our gas leaks page.
No hot water and a leaking tank
Close the cold water valve into the unit and turn off its power or gas, if that's safe to do.
Who to call first
| Call | Why | |
|---|---|---|
| Water bubbling from the footpath or road | SA Water | It's likely a main, which SA Water owns and repairs. |
| Sewage from a manhole in the street | SA Water | The public sewer is its network, not yours. |
| A burst pipe inside the house or yard | A plumber | Pipes on your side are yours to repair. |
| An overflowing gully trap | A drain specialist | It's usually a blockage in your drain; the plumber can tell if it's further out. |
Adelaide emergencies, in context
SA Water responds around the clock
SA Water says its sewer customers get a 24/7 customer care response when service is disrupted. Its contact details are on your water bill.
Dry years mean more main breaks
SA Water names ground movement as the most common cause of its mains breaking, and has more breaks in low rainfall years when soil shrinks and hardens.
Rain arrives in winter
West Terrace averages 72.4 mm of rain in June against 20.1 mm in January. Clear gutters, downpipes and yard pits before the wet months, not during a storm.
Tell the plumber this when you call
- What's leaking or overflowing: clean water, hot water, sewage or stormwater.
- Whether you've turned off the water, power or gas.
- Your suburb and how to get to the problem (side gate, under the floor, roof).
- Whether neighbours are affected, and whether you've called SA Water.
- Photos, if you can take them safely.
After the emergency
A night-time patch is often temporary. Ask the plumber whether the repair is permanent and, if not, what the proper fix involves.
Urgent work still comes with paperwork in SA. Plumbing work needs an electronic certificate of compliance within 7 days, and gas fitting its own within 30. Keep photos and the eCOC together for your insurer.
What we would do
Learn where your stop tap and gully trap are before you ever need them. In the moment, make it safe, then decide whether it's SA Water's network or your pipes, because calling the right one first saves time and money. If it's yours, describe the job clearly when you ask for help, so it goes to a plumber who handles that kind of emergency.