Water spreading, sewage coming up a drain or a gas smell in the house? Stop the damage first with the steps below, then call (657) 669-4766. We answer day and night across Costa Mesa, from Mesa Verde to the Eastside.
Call (657) 669-4766Request service
Written and fact-checked by John, editor, MBA in marketing
Updated against City, utility and state sources
A plumbing emergency is anything that is causing damage now or is unsafe: a burst pipe, water you cannot stop, sewage backing up, a leaking water heater or a gas smell. Close the main water shutoff, turn off the water heater, and for gas, leave the building and call SoCalGas at 1-800-427-2200. Then call (657) 669-4766 for a plumber.
A plumbing emergency is any problem that is damaging the building right now, puts someone at risk, or leaves the home without a working toilet, water or safe gas.
Most calls we get after dark fall into a short list. A supply line bursts under a sink. A water heater lets go in a garage or a hall closet. A main sewer line backs up into a tub on the ground floor. Someone smells gas near the range or the water heater. These do not wait until morning, because every hour adds water damage, sewage contamination or risk.
Other problems feel urgent but can usually wait a few hours for a normal appointment, as long as you can stop the water and the house is safe. The table below is how we sort them on the phone.
| Problem | Emergency now? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Burst or split pipe, water you cannot stop | Yes | Water damage grows by the minute, especially on slab floors and in upstairs units |
| Water heater leaking from the tank | Yes | A tank can empty 40 or 50 gallons onto the floor, and refills until the cold valve is closed |
| Sewage backing up into a tub, shower or floor drain | Yes | Health risk, and every flush or drain in the house adds to it |
| Gas smell indoors | Yes, but call SoCalGas first | Fire and explosion risk. Leave the building before anything else |
| Only toilet in the home is clogged or broken | Usually | A home with no working toilet is not livable for long |
| No hot water, no leak | Same day | Uncomfortable, but not damaging the house |
| Running toilet or dripping faucet | No | Wastes water but can wait. Close the fixture valve if it bothers you |
| Slow drain in one sink | No | Book a normal drain cleaning visit |
| Water bill suddenly high, nothing visible | No, unless you hear running water | Often a hidden leak. Book leak detection |
Close the main water shutoff, turn off the water heater, then open a faucet at the lowest point of the house to drain the lines.
In most Costa Mesa single-family homes, the main shutoff is a valve on the pipe where the water line comes up out of the ground and enters the house. On many 1960s and 1970s slab homes it sits on an outside wall near the front hose bib, or in the garage. Turn a round handle clockwise until it stops. A lever handle closes when it sits across the pipe.
The water meter box near the street or sidewalk often has a valve on the utility side of the meter. Those valves can be stiff and easy to break, so if you can, call your water provider first. Mesa Water District says it provides emergency shutoffs 24 hours a day, but it does not repair leaks on private property. Mesa Water's line is 949-631-1200, and after hours you can press 9 to reach Costa Mesa Police, or call 714-754-5251.
Once the main is closed, a gas water heater should be turned to off or pilot on its control knob. An electric heater should have its breaker switched off. This protects the heater if the tank drains and prevents a burner from firing on an empty or low tank. If the heater itself is leaking, also close the cold water valve on top of the tank.
Open a faucet at the lowest point, such as a tub or an outside hose bib, to let the water left in the pipes run out somewhere harmless instead of through the break.
Lift rugs, furniture and boxes off wet floors. Take photos of the water, the break and the damage before cleanup. Your insurer and, if you rent, your landlord will want them.
Tell us what broke, where, and whether the water is off. We give you an honest arrival window and a written price before any work starts.
If you rent, stop the water at the nearest valve you can reach, tell your landlord or property manager right away, and let them arrange the repair unless they tell you otherwise.
Costa Mesa is a renter's city. The City's 2023 economic profile puts owner-occupied homes at 40.3%, which means roughly six in ten households rent, and 35.4% of housing units are in buildings of five or more units. In an apartment, the main shutoff for the building may be in a locked room or a utility closet you cannot open. That changes the first steps.
Toilets, sinks and most washers have small valves (angle stops) on the supply lines. Turn them clockwise. A toilet valve is behind the bowl, near the floor. Sink valves are inside the cabinet.
Some units have their own shutoff in a closet, near the water heater or behind an access panel. Many older buildings do not. If water is coming from a ceiling or wall, it is likely from the unit above or a shared line, and only building staff can stop it.
Use the after-hours number on your lease or posted in the building. Report what you see, where the water is going and whether it is reaching other units.
Water travels. A quick knock on the door below can save their ceiling and belongings.
Follow up with a text or email and photos, with the date and time. A written record helps both sides.
California's habitability law, Civil Code section 1941.1, lists plumbing and gas facilities that conformed to the law when installed and kept in good working order, a water supply capable of producing hot and cold running water, and a connection to an approved sewage disposal system among the things a rental must have. Civil Code section 1954 lets a landlord enter without the usual notice to respond to an emergency. Section 1941.2 expects tenants to use plumbing fixtures properly and keep them clean, so a toilet clogged by wipes may be handled differently than a pipe that failed on its own.
If your landlord asks you to call a plumber directly, or you manage the property, we can take the call. Owners and managers can read how we work with rentals on our landlord and property manager page. This is general information, not legal advice. For a dispute, contact a tenant or landlord attorney.
Leave the building first, then call SoCalGas at 1-800-427-2200 from a safe place, or 911 if anyone is in danger. A plumber comes after the utility says it is safe.
Those steps come from SoCalGas. After SoCalGas finds a leak on the house side of the meter and shuts it off, the repair is plumbing work. Our gas line plumber page explains how house gas leaks at water heater connectors, range lines and old valves are found, repaired and pressure tested, and when a City permit is needed.
Stop using water everywhere in the house, keep people and pets away from the backup, and call a plumber to clear the line.
When sewage comes up through a tub, shower or ground-floor toilet, the main line out of the house is usually blocked. Every flush, shower, dishwasher or washing machine cycle sends more water into a pipe that cannot drain, and it comes out at the lowest fixture. In Costa Mesa's 1960s and 1970s slab homes, that is usually the tub or shower closest to where the line leaves the house.
The Costa Mesa Sanitary District, founded in 1944, runs the public sewer for about 118,000 residents, and OC San treats the sewage. Costa Mesa's existing laterals in the street or alley are typically 6-inch clay pipe, according to the District's sewer permit guide, and clay joints let roots in. Grease is the other big cause. A May 2, 2025 spill of about 4,000 gallons at East Mesa Verde Dr and Golf Course Dr was traced to tree roots and cooking grease, and the county temporarily closed ocean waters near the Talbert Channel.
We work on the home's drains and lateral. Where the District's responsibility begins depends on the property, so ask CMSD for your address. Our sewer line camera and repair page covers what happens after the line is cleared, and the sewer lateral guide explains the District's camera rule for reused laterals.
Water bubbling up from the sidewalk, the street or the meter box is usually the water provider's to handle, and in Costa Mesa that is Mesa Water District for most homes and IRWD for some.
Mesa Water District serves about 110,000 people in most of Costa Mesa, part of Newport Beach and some unincorporated areas, from its office at 1965 Placentia Ave. The Irvine Ranch Water District (IRWD) serves parts of Costa Mesa. Neither agency publishes a simple street list on the pages we checked, so the reliable way to know is to look at your water bill. The name at the top is your provider.
| Problem | Call | Number |
|---|---|---|
| Leak in the street, sidewalk or meter box, Mesa Water customer | Mesa Water District | 949-631-1200 (after hours press 9 for Costa Mesa Police, or 714-754-5251) |
| Leak in the street, sidewalk or meter box, IRWD customer | Irvine Ranch Water District | 949-453-5300 |
| Sewage overflowing from a manhole or the street | Costa Mesa Sanitary District | (949) 645-8400 |
| Gas smell or damaged gas line | SoCalGas, or 911 if danger | 1-800-427-2200 |
| Downed power line | 911, then Southern California Edison | 1-800-611-1911 |
| Leak or backup inside the home or on your side of the meter | A plumber | (657) 669-4766 |
| Planning to dig to reach a line | DigAlert | 811, at least two business days before digging |
If you are not sure whether the leak is on your side, use the meter. With every fixture off, a spinning leak indicator means water is passing through the meter into the property. Our who to call for water and sewer guide goes deeper on where each agency's job ends.
Costa Mesa limits construction to set hours, but the noise code exempts emergency work done to protect or restore safe conditions, so a plumber can stop a leak at 2 a.m. and finish the permitted repair later.
Costa Mesa Municipal Code section 13-279 and the City's water heater installation standard set construction hours of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Friday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday. No construction is allowed on Sundays or on New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving or Christmas. The same section says the noise chapter does not apply to emergency machinery, vehicles or work, defined as work performed to protect, provide or restore safe conditions.
In practice we split a night call into two parts:
If a larger job truly has to run outside the hours, section 13-279 lets the development services director grant a temporary waiver. That is rare for residential plumbing. More on permits is in our Costa Mesa plumbing permits guide.
For a leaking water heater, close the cold valve on top, turn the gas or breaker off, and keep clear of the relief valve if it is discharging.
A water heater that leaks from the bottom of the tank has usually rusted through and needs replacement. A drip from a fitting at the top, or from the relief valve pipe, can often be repaired. If the temperature and pressure relief valve is spraying hot water or steam, do not cap it. It is protecting the tank from over-pressure. Turn off the energy source, close the cold valve and call.
Costa Mesa has its own water heater installation standard, and a replacement needs a permit. A night call is usually about stopping the leak and getting the rest of the house back in water. The new heater goes in during construction hours with the permit pulled. Our water heater repair page walks through the City standard item by item, and the tankless page covers that option if you are replacing anyway.
Emergency pricing depends on the problem, the hour and what it takes to make the home safe; the published ranges below are estimates, not quotes. Call (657) 669-4766 for an exact quote.
| Job | Published range | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Typical plumbing job, Costa Mesa | $117 to $391 | This Old House |
| Main sewer line clearing | $100 to $800 | HomeAdvisor, 2025 |
| Single drain clog | $147 to $345 | HomeAdvisor, 2025 |
| Slab leak detection | $150 to $600 | HomeAdvisor via Angi, 2024 |
| Slab leak repair | $630 to $4,400 | HomeAdvisor via Angi, 2024 |
| Tank water heater replacement | $600 to $2,500 | Angi, 2025 |
| Gas line installation | $272 to $936 | HomeAdvisor, 2025 |
These are published third-party ranges, mostly national. After-hours calls, access through finished walls or slab floors, and parts that must be found at night all move a job. You get a written price before work starts, and if the right move is to stabilize tonight and finish tomorrow, we say so and price each part. Call (657) 669-4766 for an exact quote. More ranges are in our Costa Mesa plumbing costs guide.
You talk to a person, describe the problem, get an honest arrival window, and get a written price before a licensed plumber starts work.
What failed, where it is, whether the water or gas is off, and whether it is a house, condo or apartment. For apartments, tell us whether the landlord knows.
If the water is still running, we stay on the line while you find the valve.
Work is done by independent plumbing contractors licensed by the California Contractors State License Board (C-36). Ask for the license number and check it with our license check guide.
The plumber finds the cause and gives you a written price for stabilizing it, and a separate one for the permanent repair if it is different.
Quiet emergency work happens right away. Loud or permitted work is scheduled within the City's hours, with the permit pulled when one is required.
We cover all of Costa Mesa, including Mesa Verde, the Eastside, the Westside and South Coast Metro, from Harbor Blvd and Newport Blvd to Bristol St, Fairview Rd and Placentia Ave.
A real person answers 24 hours a day. You get an honest arrival window and a written price before any work starts.
Yes. Plumber Costa Mesa answers (657) 669-4766 24 hours a day, every day. Close your main water shutoff first if water is running, then call. You get an honest arrival window and a written price before work starts.
In most single-family homes it is a valve on the pipe where the water line enters the house, often on an outside wall near the front hose bib or in the garage. Turn it clockwise. If it will not close, call your water provider about the valve at the meter box.
Call your water provider. For most of Costa Mesa that is Mesa Water District at 949-631-1200; after hours press 9 for Costa Mesa Police or call 714-754-5251. IRWD serves parts of the city at 949-453-5300. Your water bill shows which one you have.
Leave the building right away, do not touch light switches or anything that can spark, and call SoCalGas at 1-800-427-2200 from outside. Call 911 if anyone is in danger. After SoCalGas makes it safe, a plumber can repair a leak on the house side.
Stop using all water in the house, keep people and pets away, and call a plumber to clear the main line. If neighbors are backing up too, call the Costa Mesa Sanitary District at (949) 645-8400, because the public sewer may be blocked.
Yes, for emergency work. Costa Mesa limits construction to 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays, but the noise code exempts emergency work to restore safe conditions. Permanent repairs and loud work are scheduled within normal hours.
Call your landlord or property manager first, after closing the nearest fixture valve. California law requires rentals to have working plumbing, and the landlord usually arranges the repair. If your landlord asks you to call a plumber, you can call (657) 669-4766.
This Old House lists $117 to $391 for a typical Costa Mesa plumbing job, and larger emergencies like slab leaks or water heater replacement have their own published ranges. These are estimates, not quotes. Call (657) 669-4766 for an exact quote.
Facts on this page come from these public sources, checked November 1, 2026.