When every faucet in the house runs dry at once, the cause is almost never inside the house. It is somewhere along the path water takes to get to you: the public main in the street, your water meter, the shutoff valve where the service line enters, or the buried service line itself. Knowing which of those is the likely cause tells you whether this is a call to the water utility or a plumber, and most of the causes on your side of the meter are not something a homeowner can safely resolve alone.
Check Whether Your Neighbors Have Water
The one thing worth checking before you call anyone is whether the outage stops at your property line. Text a neighbor or check a neighborhood app to see if anyone nearby is also without water. If the whole street is dry, the problem is on the utility's side, a water main break, a shutoff for repairs, or planned maintenance, and the fix is in their hands. Your water authority usually posts outages and can confirm it, so that is the call to make.
If your neighbors have water and you do not, the problem is on your property, somewhere between the public main and your fixtures. That is the scenario that calls for a plumber, because the causes on your side of the meter are mostly buried, mechanical, or behind a wall, not a quick fix at a faucet.
Why the Shutoff Valve Is Rarely the Fix
The main shutoff valve, the one that controls all water entering the house, can occasionally be left partly closed after recent plumbing work, and if that is the entire problem, reopening it restores water. It is the one cause worth ruling out, but it is also the least common on a home that was working fine and suddenly is not. When the valve is already open, which it usually is, the cause lies further out, and that is where the diagnosis gets beyond a visual check.
The reason this matters is that a closed valve and a failed service line produce the identical symptom, no water, but one is a non-issue and the other is a buried repair. Telling them apart reliably, rather than guessing, is part of what a plumber does on the first visit, and it is why an outage that is not an obvious valve problem is worth a professional look rather than a long afternoon of troubleshooting.
The Meter Valve and the Service Line
Past the shutoff valve, the causes move underground and out of reach. The water meter near the curb has its own valve that can be left closed after utility work, and the meter reading tells a plumber whether water is even reaching your property, but the box is utility equipment and reading it correctly is not always straightforward. More often the problem is the line itself.
The buried service line that runs from the meter to your house is the cause that actually requires help. An older line can corrode, crack, or collapse, and a break there cuts off water with no valve to simply reopen. Around metro Atlanta, our clay soil shifts with the seasons and stresses older service lines, and a line that fails underground has to be located with the right equipment and repaired. There is no homeowner version of that fix, which is why a no water call with the valves open goes to a plumber.
When It Is Frozen or Broken Pipe
In cold weather, a sudden loss of water often means a frozen pipe. When water freezes in a line, the ice blocks flow completely until it thaws, and the real danger is that the expanding ice can split the pipe, so water returns as a leak once it warms. If the house has been through a hard freeze and the water stopped, a frozen or burst line is the likely cause, and it is worth shutting the main valve until it can be checked so a thawed break does not flood the house.
Working Through the Causes in Order
| What you notice | The likely cause | Who handles it |
|---|---|---|
| No water anywhere, neighbors also out | A water main break or utility shutoff in the area | The water utility |
| No water anywhere, neighbors are fine | Your main shutoff valve, meter valve, or service line | You, then a plumber |
| No water, recent freeze | A frozen or burst service line or indoor pipe | A plumber |
| No water, unpaid bill or planned work | A utility shutoff for nonpayment or scheduled maintenance | The water utility |
If the street has water, your shutoff and meter valves are open, and the meter is not feeding water into the house, the problem is in the service line or somewhere you cannot easily reach, and that is the point to call. A plumber can locate a buried line break and confirm whether the issue is on your side of the meter or the utility's. If you are without water with no obvious cause, professional help can find it faster than guessing.
No Water and No Obvious Reason? Call Us.
RooterPLUS! has restored water to homes across metro Atlanta since 1994, in more than 100,000 of them. We will trace the cause, whether it is a valve, a service line, or a broken pipe, and give you a written estimate before any work starts.
Live dispatch answers 24/7 with no upcharge for nights, weekends, or holidays. GA Plumbing License #MP207808.
Call 770-888-1931 or schedule service online.
