Burst Pipes in Nashville: What to Do and Who to Call When It Happens

1. Shut off the water at your main. Find the main shutoff before you ever need it. It’s usually where the water line enters the house, such as a basement wall, crawlspace, or garage. Turn it fully off.
2. Use your own valve, not the meter. Metro Water Services’ terms say it’s unlawful for anyone outside the utility to interfere with a meter. If your own shutoff is stuck or missing, call MWS’s emergency line and ask for help.
3. Watch for electricity. The CDC’s guidance says that when water is in your home, you should turn off gas, power, and water, to avoid fire, electrocution, or explosions. Only go to the breaker panel if you can reach it without standing in water.
4. Limit the damage. Move furniture and valuables away from the water, put out buckets for drips, and soak up standing water if it’s safe.
5. Photograph everything. Take photos and video of the break and the damage before you clean up. Your insurance company will want them.
6. Check your other pipes. The American Red Cross notes that if one pipe freezes, others may too, so check every faucet in the house.
7. Call the right number. The table below shows who.

In Nashville, ownership of the water line is split between you and Metro Water Services. That split decides who you call and who pays.

The ownership line comes from Metro Water Services’ customer terms, which say the customer owns, maintains, and operates the water service from the meter box to the structure served. For the public side, MWS’s emergency service page lists 24/7 reporting for leaks in the street or meter box and broken water lines in a street or yard.

Water expands when it freezes, and that expansion puts tremendous pressure on whatever contains it, including metal and plastic pipes. The Red Cross says the pipes that freeze most often are those exposed to severe cold, like outdoor hose bibs and sprinkler lines, supply pipes in unheated areas like basements, crawl spaces, attics, garages, and kitchen cabinets, and pipes that run against poorly insulated exterior walls.

Nashville saw how costly this can get in the January 2026 ice storm. As the ground thawed, Metro Water Director Scott Potter told Fox17 that crews had nine main breaks under repair, with seven more under investigation and the number expected to rise. Home pipes are the same story on a smaller scale: the damage often shows up at the thaw, when ice becomes flowing water.

Warning signs of a freezing or damaged pipe include a faucet that runs a trickle or no water at all, visible cracks or bulges in a pipe, and frost or ice on a pipe. If you’ve been away during a hard freeze, Potter urged people to check unoccupied homes and businesses to make sure water is flowing.

Acting early can save you a repair. The Red Cross’s thawing steps are simple:

Not every burst pipe is a water supply line. A drain or sewer line can split from freeze-and-thaw, root intrusion, or sudden failure, and it can send water or sewage into a yard, crawlspace, or wall. Signs include water or sewage spraying from a line, a sudden wet spot or sinkhole in the yard, or drains that stop working after a hard freeze. That’s what Prodigy’s burst pipe repair service handles.

1. Stop using water in the house and keep people and pets away from any sewage.
2. Call for phone triage. Prodigy gives shutoff and safety guidance while a technician is dispatched.
3. Locate the break with a camera inspection and sonde tracing.
4. Repair the broken section. Prodigy uses trenchless methods when the break can be reached that way, and excavation when it can’t.
5. Get documentation for your insurance claim.

Prodigy’s published emergency dispatch fees are $29 standard and $250 after hours. The repair cost is confirmed on site, and a free camera inspection comes with any booked job. If the water you’re seeing might be a hidden leak rather than a visible burst, leak detection can find it without tearing open walls. For the full list of after-hours services, see our emergency plumber page.

A note on scope: Prodigy specializes in sewer, drain, septic, and sump pump work. If your burst pipe is a water supply line inside the house, shut the water off and call a licensed plumber who handles supply-line repair. If you’re not sure which kind of line you have, call (629) 276-6322 and our team can help you sort it out.

• Insurance. Triple-I says homeowners and renters insurance provides coverage for burst pipes, and that water coming from the top down is generally covered by a standard policy. Your own policy decides the details, including whether it pays for the repair itself or only the resulting damage, so call your agent early.
• Your water bill. After a leak, your bill can spike. Metro Water Services’ assistance page says that if a concealed leak occurred, you may be eligible for an adjustment under MWS policy. After the repair, give MWS the type and date of the repair by email or by calling 615-862-4600, with your account number. If your bill is due before the adjustment, pay it in full to avoid late charges.
• Sewer or drain repairs. Cost depends on the length, depth, and condition of the line, and whether trenchless repair is possible. Prodigy confirms the exact figure after a free camera inspection.

• Let faucets drip in a hard freeze. During the January storm, MWS encouraged residents to keep dripping faucets. WSMV reported that Director Potter said letting three faucets run for 24 hours would cost about $1.70.
• Protect exposed pipes. The Red Cross recommends insulating pipes in attics, basements, crawl spaces, and garages, opening cabinet doors so warm air reaches pipes on exterior walls, and keeping the thermostat at the same temperature day and night.
• Don’t turn the heat off when you travel. The Red Cross says to leave the heat on and set no lower than 55°F if you’ll be away in cold weather.
• Drain outdoor lines. Disconnect and store hoses, close the inside valves feeding outdoor hose bibs, and open the outside bibs to let water drain, as the Red Cross advises.
• Know your shutoff, and consider a pressure device. Triple-I recommends knowing where your main shutoff is and installing an emergency pressure release valve, which protects against the increased pressure from freezing pipes. MWS also encourages a pressure reducing valve on your side of the service line, checked regularly.

If you’re worried about underground damage after a hard freeze, our post on the Nashville ice storm and sewer line damage explains what to watch for, and our Nashville service page lists everything we handle across Davidson County.

When a pipe bursts, the first move is always the same: shut off your water at your own valve. The second is knowing whose pipe it is. In Nashville, that comes down to the meter box. Know where your shutoff is, know where your side of the line starts, and keep the right numbers handy before the next freeze.