When a pipe goes, the damage is done by the water still flowing — not the split itself. The fastest thing you can do is stop it at the source. Here’s the sequence, then who’s responsible for the repair.

Contact verified emergency plumbers in Woolwich ↓

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First five minutes: stop the water

Everything else can wait ninety seconds; this cannot. Thames Water’s advice for a burst is to find your stop tap — usually under the kitchen sink — and turn it clockwise to turn off the water. If yours is stiff or you’ve never found it, that’s a job for a calm afternoon, not a flooding one — our find your stop tap guide walks through locating and testing it in advance, which is the single best thing you can do before a burst ever happens.

If the burst is on the heating system rather than the mains, the main stop tap only stops fresh make-up water reaching the leak where the filling loop or feed path is open — a sealed circuit will otherwise keep leaking its existing contents until it is drained down. Turning the boiler and heating off and calling an engineer matters as much as the stop tap, though shutting the stop tap is still a safe first move.

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Then drain the system and protect the electrics

With the water off, the goal is to get the standing water out of the pipes and keep it away from anything electrical. Thames Water’s steps are to turn off your heating, open all the taps to drain the system quickly, and soak up escaping water with towels — and, critically, if there’s any water near your electrics, switch them off at the mains.

Draining the taps matters because it empties the pipes above the split, so less water ends up on your floors and ceilings while you wait. Once it’s contained, photograph the damage before anyone starts work — you’ll want it for insurance.

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Whose burst is it? Your pipe vs Thames Water’s

Not every burst is yours to pay for, and it’s worth knowing the line. Inside your boundary, the supply and waste pipes that serve only your property are your responsibility — Thames Water points residents with an internal problem to an approved plumber or their landlord. But Thames Water owns the public mains and sewers, and drains shared with neighbours, so a burst main in the street is theirs — Thames Water asks residents to report a leak or burst in the road.

For a Royal Greenwich leaseholder, the internal split applies again: you’re responsible for pipework after the stopcock that serves only your home, and the council for the pipes up to the stopcock. Establishing which side the burst sits on decides who pays.

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Winter in Woolwich: why pipes freeze and burst

Most bursts aren’t random — they follow a cold snap. Thames Water explains the mechanism plainly: pipes can freeze in cold weather, and a frozen pipe may crack or burst. The vulnerable spots are the cold ones — Thames Water flags pipes in unheated places like the loft or garage — which is why a mild morning after a hard frost is peak burst season, as the ice thaws and water flows against the split.

If you catch a pipe frozen but not yet burst, Thames Water advises turning off the water at the stop tap, opening the taps so water can escape as it thaws, and thawing gently rather than with any naked flame. Then check the pipe for leaks before turning the water back on, and call a plumber if water keeps escaping.

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Council tenants, leaseholders and renters: the burst-pipe route

An unstoppable burst is one of the few things every tenure treats as a true emergency. Royal Greenwich lists burst pipes with a leak you cannot stop among the emergencies it aims to make safe within two hours for its tenants — a leaking water pipe, heating pipe, tank or cistern that you can contain is handled as urgent, within one working day, instead.

Council tenants call Royal Greenwich rather than a private plumber — 020 8921 8900 in office hours and 020 8854 8888 at all other times. Private tenants facing a serious burst — for example one that’s left them with no hot water or no drinking water — can raise it with the council’s Residential Services team on 020 8921 8157 if the landlord won’t act, though the first move for a containable leak is to notify the landlord in writing and allow 14 days. Homeowners and leaseholders with an internal burst can call a verified emergency plumber directly.

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Insurance, and what a plumber does once the water’s off

Thames Water’s own burst-pipe guidance is to check with your home insurer about cover, or call a plumber — and for a significant burst, do both. Buildings and contents policies often cover escape-of-water damage even where the pipe repair itself isn’t covered, so photograph everything before work starts.

When a plumber attends, the job is rarely just the split. They’ll isolate and cut out the failed section, replace it and pressure-test the repair, then check nearby joints — because a pipe that burst once from freezing (or that is old and corroded) often has neighbours under the same strain. In Woolwich’s hard-water area, that scale check is worth having; our London hard water guide explains why.

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Why verified plumbers in Woolwich

A burst is the worst moment to be gambling on a stranger. Everyone listed here is checked before they appear — identity, insurance and trading presence, with Gas Safe registration where gas work is involved — and re-verified every year, so the listing holds up on the day water’s coming through your ceiling. Plumbers pay a flat monthly fee to be listed, which means no customer-side introduction charge and no pay-to-play ranking pushing someone to the top of the page. Workmanship-guarantee badges tell you whether the repair is backed for 1, 3, 6 or 12 months before you book.

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Frequently asked questions

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Last reviewed: May 2026 by Adiel Khan — SFEDI-accredited business advisor, 20+ years’ experience (South East Enterprise Ltd) and operator of VerifiedPlumbers. LinkedIn ↗