Emergency plumbing, 24 hours
Emergency Plumber in Bothell, WA. Answered 24 Hours, Including Holidays.
Burst supply lines, sewer backups coming up through a floor drain, water through a ceiling, no hot water at 2am in January. We cover 98011, 98012 and 98021, both the King County side and the Snohomish County side, plus Kenmore, Woodinville, Mill Creek, Brier and Lynnwood.
Shut the water off at your main first. If it is a sewer backup or a no-water call, phone your water and sewer district before you phone any plumber, because they will come out 24 hours a day and tell you free of charge whether the fault is on their main or your side of the property line. If it is your side, call us. Typical emergency plumbing calls in this market run 284 to 760 dollars, with hourly labor at 150 to 200 dollars.
Do this first
The six things that matter in the first five minutes
- Shut the water off at the main. In most Bothell homes it is in the garage, in the crawlspace near the front foundation wall, or in the meter box near the street. Downtown and Bothell Landing condos usually have a unit shutoff in a utility closet. Find it now, on a calm day, and check that the valve actually turns. Old gate valves seize shut and you will not discover that in an emergency.
- If it is a sewer backup, stop running water immediately. Every flush, every load of laundry, every dishwasher cycle adds to what comes back up. This is the single most common way a small backup becomes a flooring replacement.
- Call your water and sewer district before you call a plumber. Numbers are below. This is free and it decides who pays.
- Kill power to anything standing in water. Water heater, furnace, washer, freezer. Breaker first, then the appliance. Do not walk into standing water in a finished basement with live circuits.
- Photograph everything before you clean up. Your insurer will ask, and so will we. Wide shot, then close on the source.
- If you smell gas, leave the building first, then call. Puget Sound Energy at 1-888-225-5773 or 911, from outside. No light switches, no garage door opener, no landline near the leak.
The part nobody tells you
Half of Bothell emergency calls are not the homeowner problem
Bothell is served by five separate water and sewer providers depending on which street you live on. The City of Bothell, Northshore Utility District, Alderwood Water and Wastewater District, Silver Lake Water and Sewer District and Woodinville Water District all cover pieces of this city, with Cross Valley picking up the Maltby fringe. The City of Bothell maintains a find your water service provider lookup page for exactly this reason, because residents genuinely cannot tell which one is theirs.
Every one of them runs a 24 hour emergency line, and they will come out and tell you whether the fault sits on their side before you spend a dollar. Northshore Utility District states it plainly: their crews will help determine whether a problem exists in your private plumbing or within the district public system, and they provide that emergency assistance free of charge. What they will not do is repair your side, because in their own words, district personnel are not authorized or licensed to make repairs on private plumbing systems.
| Your district | 24 hour emergency line |
|---|---|
| City of BothellWater operations and emergencies, option 1 | 425-488-0118 |
| Northshore Utility DistrictAfter hours 425-608-3751 | 425-398-4400 |
| Alderwood Water & WastewaterSnohomish County side. Admin 425-743-4605 | 425-787-0250 |
| Silver Lake Water & SewerPress 1 after hours. Office at 15205 41st Ave SE, Bothell | 425-337-3647 |
| Woodinville Water DistrictSouth east Bothell area | 425-487-4100 |
| Puget Sound Energy, gasLeave the building first | 1-888-225-5773 |
Where does your responsibility begin? At the meter on the water side and at the property line on the sewer side. Silver Lake Water and Sewer District spells it out that way, and they will provide As-Built drawings of your side sewer on request, which is worth asking for before anyone quotes you a camera inspection.
What actually goes wrong here
The Bothell emergencies we get called out for most
Burst hose bib after a freeze
Bothell coldest month averages a 38 degree low, which is exactly why homes here are underprotected when a real snap lands. In January 2026 the region hit 26 degrees at Sea-Tac and 24 at Paine Field. A hose left connected traps water against the valve and splits it, and it often does not leak until the thaw.
Split pipe in a vented crawlspace
The classic Maywood, Beckstrom Hill and Queensborough failure. Foundation vents open plus 24 degrees equals a split line above the vapor barrier. Code minimum is R-4 insulation on piping in unheated spaces, and most 1950s to 1970s homes here never got it.
Sewer backup from root intrusion
Gradual onset over months, worse in the wet season, recurring on a similar interval. Bigleaf maple and black cottonwood along the North Creek, Swamp Creek and Sammamish River corridors are the real offenders here, not the Douglas fir everyone blames.
Pinhole leak in copper
Usually a weep on a horizontal run that has been going quietly for weeks. Our water is soft and low in alkalinity, roughly 20 mg/L at a pH near 8.0 to 8.2, which is the chemistry profile researchers associate with copper pitting risk. Caught early it is a small repair. Caught late it is drywall and flooring.
Water heater failure
Tank splits, relief valve dumping, or no hot water at all. Before you agree to a replacement, read our page on why a dripping relief valve is usually a pressure problem and not a water heater problem.
Crawlspace water in the wet season
Bothell gets around 58 inches of precipitation a year, with November averaging 8.3 inches and December 7.2. The urgent question is whether that is seasonal groundwater or a broken supply line under your house, because the answer decides who you should be paying.
What it costs
Emergency plumbing prices in Bothell, published
Almost nobody in this market publishes a number. They publish a discount off a number they will not show you. So here is the honest range for the Seattle metro, drawn from published Angi and Consumers Checkbook data, and your written flat quote comes before we touch anything.
| Emergency job | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Typical plumbing service callAngi Seattle average is 522 dollars | 284 to 760 dollars |
| Hourly labor | 150 to 200 dollars per hour |
| Trip or diagnostic feeOurs is credited in full to any repair you approve | 75 to 200 dollars |
| Main sewer line clog clearingSeattle average is 806 dollars | 350 to 1,270 dollars |
| Burst pipe repair | 1,000 to 3,500 dollars |
| Main water line leak | 600 to 4,500 dollars |
What a 2am call to us actually looks like
What generates a one star review
- A quoted callout fee that arrives as a four figure invoice.
- A five figure replacement recommended before anything has been diagnosed.
- One bundled number with no labor, parts or permit breakdown.
- Camera run, no footage handed over, verdict delivered verbally.
- Excavation started without an 811 locate.
- A promo code the company then refuses to honor.
How we handle the same moment
- A real number on the phone before anyone is dispatched.
- Diagnosis first, always, and the diagnostic credited to the repair.
- Labor, parts and permit itemized separately on every invoice.
- Camera footage sent to you, whoever ends up doing the work.
- 811 locate before any excavation, every single time.
- If the job comes in smaller than quoted, the invoice comes in smaller too.
On anything over 5,000 dollars we will tell you to get a second opinion, and we will give you one free if you already have a written quote from another licensed contractor in hand. Documented complaints in this market include a 42,000 dollar repipe that ran three days before anyone noticed the actual fault was a failed water heater element, and a 20,000 dollar septic quote a competitor priced at 4,800 dollars. Nobody should approve a five figure job on one opinion at midnight.
Verify anyone
How to check an emergency plumber license in Washington
Emergency is when people skip this step, and it is exactly when they should not. Go to secure.lni.wa.gov/verify and check three separate things, because most homeowners only know about the first one.
- Active contractor registration. A specialty contractor in Washington carries a 15,000 dollar bond and either 200,000 dollars public liability plus 50,000 dollars property damage, or 250,000 dollars combined single limit.
- A separate plumbing contractor license. Not the same thing as registration. It carries an additional 6,000 dollar bond and 250,000 dollars combined per occurrence with L and I as certificate holder, and it expires 24 months after issue. A general contractor cannot legally self perform plumbing without one.
- The individual technician certificate. PL01 is journey level, requiring 8,000 hours and four or more years. PL02 is residential specialty at 6,000 hours. PL04 is residential service only.
Straight answers
Emergency plumbing questions Bothell homeowners actually ask
How fast can an emergency plumber get to my house in Bothell?
Tell us your ZIP and we will give you a real window on the phone rather than a marketing promise. Bothell splits across King and Snohomish counties and traffic on SR 522, SR 527 and I-405 changes that window a lot depending on the hour. Be suspicious of any company promising a fixed national response time from a Seattle, Lynnwood or Tacoma address.
Do you charge extra for nights, weekends and holidays?
Ask us on the phone and we will tell you before dispatch. Across the market, after hours and emergency rates commonly run 1.5 to 2 times business hours labor, and emergency dispatch fees of 150 to 250 dollars are typical. The number you are quoted on the phone is the number on your invoice.
What counts as a real plumbing emergency?
Anything actively releasing water you cannot stop, any sewage inside the building, no water at all, and any gas smell. A slow drip, a running toilet or a single slow drain is usually not an emergency, and paying an after hours premium for it is money you do not need to spend. Shut the fixture off at its stop valve and call in the morning.
Should I call the water district or a plumber first?
The district, in almost every case, and it costs nothing. City of Bothell 425-488-0118, Northshore Utility District 425-398-4400, Alderwood 425-787-0250, Silver Lake 425-337-3647, Woodinville 425-487-4100. If their main is clear the problem is on your side, and that is when a plumber is the right call.
Where is the main water shutoff in a Bothell house?
Usually the garage, the crawlspace near the front foundation wall, or the meter box near the street. Newer downtown and Canyon Park condos and townhomes typically have a unit shutoff in a utility closet. Locate it before you need it and confirm the valve turns, because seized gate valves are extremely common in the 1950s to 1970s housing stock.
My pipes froze but I cannot see a leak. Am I fine?
Not necessarily. Split pipe frequently does not leak until the ice thaws and pressure returns, so watch it for a full day after things warm up. Check the crawlspace, the garage and under sinks on exterior walls.
Do you serve unincorporated Snohomish County around Bothell?
Yes, including Bothell East, Bothell West, Maltby, Clearview, Martha Lake and Silver Firs. Note that permits out there come from Snohomish County Planning and Development Services rather than the City of Bothell, and septic is far more common than in the city.
Will you pull a permit on emergency work?
Where one is required, yes. Under Bothell Municipal Code 20.02.095 clearing a stoppage or repairing a leak in pipe, valves or fixtures does not need a permit, but replacing concealed pipe does, and any side sewer work at all requires a permit from the public works director under BMC 18.03.340.
Related
Other things we fix in Bothell
Water Heater Repair & Replacement
Tank, tankless and heat pump. Plus the PSE and Snohomish PUD rebate deadlines nobody explains.
Drain Cleaning & Clogged Drains
Cleared through a cleanout, then cameraed so you see the line is actually clear.
Sewer Repair & Side Sewer Replacement
Camera first, permit pulled, and the footage handed to you before anyone quotes a replacement.
Leak Detection & Pipe Repair
Pinhole leaks, slab and crawlspace leaks, and the free meter test you can run yourself first.
Water Pressure, PRV & Expansion Tanks
The Alderwood pressure reduction project, and why your relief valve drips.
Gas Line Repair & Installation
PSE owns the pipe to your meter. Past that it is yours, and it needs a City of Bothell inspection.
See also our side sewer ownership guide and the Bothell permit guide.
Service area
- 98011
- 98012
- 98021
- Kenmore
- Woodinville
- Mill Creek
- Brier
- Lynnwood
- Bothell East
- Bothell West
Water where it should not be?
We answer 24 hours a day across Bothell, Kenmore, Woodinville, Mill Creek, Brier and Lynnwood.