05·RB-WATER
Runbook — Water leak
Water is the most expensive thing that goes wrong in a house, and the fix in the first sixty seconds is almost always free.
956 N Noble Loop · Showing Edition · Rev A · Aug 2026
Turn the water off first. Understand the leak second. Every minute of running water is more damage, and no diagnosis you make while it is spraying is worth what it costs you. There are only three places to turn water off in a house, and you can learn all three in a minute — do it now, before you need it.
Two things that make a leak dangerous rather than expensive
Water near electrical equipment — a panel, an outlet, an appliance — is a shock risk: kill the circuit at the breaker before you touch anything, and if you cannot do that safely, leave and call an electrician. Water coming up out of a floor drain or toilet is sewage, not water: it is a biohazard, keep people and pets out of it, and call the sewer district.
First, check — in this order
- Turn off the nearest shutoff. Under a sink there is a small oval or football-shaped handle on each supply line; behind a toilet there is one on the wall. Turn it clockwise until it stops. If the leak is at one fixture, you are done in ten seconds and the rest of the house keeps its water.
- If you cannot find a local shutoff, or the leak is not at a fixture — use the main. The main water shutoff stops all water to the house. Location and photo to be captured at the walkthrough — see Start Here, which is also the laminated card posted by the panel. Learn this location on your first day in the house; it is the single highest-value fact in this manual.
- Now look at where the water is coming from. Follow it uphill. Water travels along joists and pipes and appears a long way from its source, so the wet ceiling patch is rarely under the actual leak.
- Kill the power to anything wet. If water is dripping into a light fixture, running near an outlet, or pooling under an appliance, switch off that circuit at the panel before mopping. See breaker trips for how to find the right breaker.
- Get the water out. Towels, a wet vacuum, buckets. Lift rugs, pull furniture off wet carpet, and get air moving with fans. In this climate, standing water becomes a mold problem quickly.
- Then decide whether it is a call-now leak or a call-tomorrow leak. The table below sorts it.
The test for “is there a hidden leak?”
Turn off every faucet and appliance in the house, then look at the water meter. If the small dial or leak indicator is still turning, water is going somewhere it should not — inside a wall, under a slab, or out to the irrigation. That single observation is what a plumber will ask you for.
Symptom → cause → fix
| What you are looking at | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Drip under a sink | A loose compression nut, a failed supply line, or a P-trap joint. | Close that fixture’s shutoff. A supply line (the braided hose) is a cheap part and a common failure. If it is the drain trap, it only leaks while the sink is draining — usually hand-tightenable. |
| Water around the base of a toilet | Failed wax ring or loose closet bolts — or condensation. | Close the toilet’s shutoff, flush to empty the tank, and stop using it. A wax-ring replacement is a routine plumber visit, not an emergency, provided the toilet is not in use. |
| Water at the tankless water heater | A fitting, an isolation valve, or the unit’s relief. | This house has a gas tankless water heater installed with isolation valves on the inlet and outlet — close both to isolate the unit without shutting off the house. If it is gas-related or you are unsure, close the water and call a plumber. Model and location to confirm at the walkthrough. |
| Water behind the washing machine | A burst or weeping supply hose — one of the most common causes of major water damage in any house. | Close both hose valves behind the machine. Replace rubber hoses with braided stainless as a matter of course; they are inexpensive and the failure mode is catastrophic. |
| Water heater / softener / treatment equipment area is wet | A fitting, a bypass valve, or a regeneration drain. | Isolate the equipment if it has its own valves; otherwise use the main. This equipment is documented on the plumbing pages. Water treatment configuration to confirm at the walkthrough. |
| Wet ceiling or wall stain, no visible source | A pipe, a fixture above, or a roof/flashing leak. | If it changes when someone runs water upstairs, it is plumbing. If it changes with rain, it is the roof. Photograph and date the stain — the spread rate tells a professional a lot. |
| Water in the crawlspace or against the foundation after heavy rain | Drainage, gutters, or downspouts — not plumbing. | Check that gutters are clear and downspouts discharge away from the house. This is a wet-winter climate; drainage is a maintenance item, not usually an emergency. |
| Water bubbling up from a floor drain, or several drains slow at once | A sewer blockage, not a supply leak. Shutting off the water will not stop it. | Stop using all water in the house immediately, keep people out of the water, and call Clark Regional Wastewater District, 360-750-5876 (24-hour). If the blockage is on your side of the connection you will need a plumber; the District will tell you which side it is. |
| Hose bib dripping or split after a freeze | A frozen and burst outdoor faucet or the pipe behind it. | Close the interior shutoff for that hose bib if there is one, otherwise the main. Damage often shows up on the first warm day after a freeze, indoors, behind the wall. |
| Wet patch in the yard, high water bill, meter turning | An irrigation leak or a service-line leak. | Shut off the irrigation supply and re-check the meter. If it stops, it is the sprinkler system — see the irrigation page. If it keeps turning, call the City: it may be on their side of the meter. |
Who to call — and who owns which pipe
This trips people up, so it is worth being precise about the boundaries around this property:
- Inside the house and up to the meter is yours — that means a licensed plumber.
- The meter and the main in the street are the City of Ridgefield’s. The City provides water and stormwater service here. Utility billing and service: 360-887-3557. For a water emergency outside normal business hours, the City’s after-hours Public Works line is 360-887-6002. Non-emergency Public Works: 360-887-8251.
- Sewer is not the City. Sewer service at this address is Clark Regional Wastewater District — 24-hour line 360-750-5876. Call them before you call a plumber for a backup; if the blockage is in their main, the plumber cannot help you and the District’s response is free.
- Water damage restoration is a separate trade from plumbing. After any significant soaking, call a restoration company within 24–48 hours and notify your insurer. Drying is time-sensitive in this climate; the plumber stops the leak, the restorer prevents the mold.
Stop and call a pro when…
- You cannot stop the water with a fixture shutoff or the main — licensed plumber now, and the City after-hours line 360-887-6002 if the problem is at or before the meter.
- Sewage is coming up anywhere — Clark Regional Wastewater District 360-750-5876. Do not run any water in the house until you have talked to them.
- Water has reached electrical equipment — a panel, a subpanel, an outlet at floor level, or the exterior equipment wall. Licensed electrician, and 911 if there is any arcing or smoke. Do not wade in to investigate.
- Water is near the gas tankless water heater and you smell gas — leave the house, then NW Natural 800-882-3377 or 911.
- Any leak has been running long enough to soak drywall, insulation, or subfloor — plumber first, then a water damage restoration company. Do not simply dry the surface and hope.
Owner's edition
Full details in the owner's edition — serial numbers, configuration and identity details continue in the complete manual, handed to the buyer at closing.
Related pages
- Start Here — the three shutoffs, with photos. Read it before you need it.
- Breaker trips — for killing power to a wet circuit.
- Going on vacation — shutting the water off before a trip is the cheapest insurance in this manual.
- City of Ridgefield — Water Service
Source for utility billing 360-887-3557, after-hours emergency 360-887-6002, and Public Works 360-887-8251. - City of Ridgefield — Utilities
Confirms the City provides water and stormwater service only. - Clark Regional Wastewater District — Contact
Source for the 24-hour emergency sewer line, 360-750-5876. - NW Natural — Contact & 24-hour gas emergency line
Source for the 800-882-3377 emergency line. - Washington State L&I — Verify a contractor
Check that a plumber or restoration contractor is licensed and bonded before they start work.