If a pipe has burst in your Silver Spring home, close the main valve and keep away from any wet electrical outlets. A plumber can locate the break, replace the damaged section and test the line before the water goes back on. Call the number on this page to be connected with a local plumber in Silver Spring.
Silver Spring at a glance
Silver Spring sits on the District's northern border, inside the Beltway, and its median home dates to 1964. Many houses here have six decades of joints, valves and older supply pipe, and a lot of them have basements where a split line can soak finished rooms before anyone notices. WSSC Water provides the water and sewer service.
What to do right now
- Close the main shutoff. In most basement homes it sits on the front wall where the service line enters. In a condo or apartment, the valve may be in a utility closet; ask building staff if you cannot find it.
- Stay out of standing water near outlets, cords or a power strip. Cut the breaker for that area if you can reach the panel safely.
- Open a faucet on the lowest level to drain what is left in the pipes.
- Switch off an electric water heater at the breaker, or set a gas heater to pilot.
- If water is surfacing in the yard near the meter, or in the street, call WSSC Water's emergency line at 301-206-4002.
- Photograph the damage, then start moving belongings and soaking up water.
Signs and what they usually mean
| Symptom | Likely cause |
|---|---|
| Water dripping through a basement ceiling after a freezing night | A supply line in a cold exterior wall or joist bay split |
| Sudden low pressure everywhere | A large break somewhere on the supply side |
| Water at the base of the wall behind a hose bib | The outdoor faucet froze and cracked inside the wall |
| Hissing behind drywall with every fixture off | Pressurized pipe leaking inside the wall |
| Wet front yard between the meter and the house | A break on the buried service line |
What affects the cost
- Whether the pipe is exposed in an unfinished basement or hidden behind plaster and finished walls
- Pipe type: copper, plastic or older galvanized, which may need transition fittings
- Whether nearby sections are also corroded and worth replacing at the same time
- Digging, if the break is on the service line outside
- After-hours or weekend timing
Most plumbing in Montgomery County, including water service line repairs, is done by a plumber registered with WSSC Water under a WSSC permit. Owners of older homes can look up their service line material on WSSC's What's Your Pipe Type? map.
Burst Pipe Repair questions in Silver Spring
Where is the main water shutoff in most homes here?
Are older pipes more likely to burst?
Who pays to fix a break between the street and the house?
Is it safe to walk into a flooded basement?
More plumbing services in Silver Spring
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