Water Where It Should Not Be in Covington, GA: The First Steps, in Order

First stop: your own shut-off

Most houses around Covington have a main valve where the water line enters: in a crawlspace near the front foundation, on a garage wall, beside the water heater or in a utility room. Close it before anything else. A gate valve turns clockwise until it stops; a lever-handled ball valve needs a quarter turn so the lever lies across the pipe.

If the house has no working valve, the water can be stopped at the meter, but the meter belongs to the utility. City of Covington customers can reach City offices at 770-385-2000, the number printed on the City's rate pages. NCWSA customers should call the Authority; its fee sheet lists an after-hours restoration charge for homeowners of $150.00, for emergency situations only, which shows the Authority does respond outside normal hours.

A missing or seized valve is worth replacing once the emergency is over. It is a small job compared with the damage a few extra minutes of running water can do.

Second stop: electricity, gas and people

If water has reached outlets, appliances or the electrical panel, turn off the affected circuits at the breaker, but only from dry ground. If you cannot reach the panel safely, leave and call for help.

For a gas water heater or furnace that has been in water, shut the gas supply valve to the appliance and leave relighting to a professional. Flood-damaged controls can fail later even when the unit appears to work.

Move people and pets away from sewage backups. Water from a toilet or floor drain is not clean water, and cleanup needs gloves and disinfectant at a minimum.

Third stop: pictures and the meter reading

Before cleanup starts, photograph the leak, the failed part, standing water and any damage. Then photograph the water meter dial. A dated meter photo gives you a reference point for checking whether the leak is really stopped after the repair.

Keep every receipt from this point on. The City of Covington's leak policy is direct about paperwork: the request needs a receipt or repair bill showing where the leak was fixed, together with the Leak Adjustment Request Form, and if you fail to provide a repair bill you will not qualify.

Insurance adjusters will want the same photos. Taking them once, early, saves arguing about what the damage looked like before the drywall came out.

Fourth stop: the call to a plumber

Tell the plumber what is leaking, whether the water is off, which town you are in and who supplies your water. Supply leaks and drain backups need different equipment, and a plumber who knows which one it is can bring the right parts.

Ask how they charge before they come: whether there is a service or trip charge, how after-hours time is billed, and whether you will get a written price before work starts. Those numbers belong to the plumber and vary from one company to the next.

Ask them to note on the invoice exactly where the leak was and what was repaired. That single line is what the City's leak policy is looking for.

Fifth stop: after the repair

Read the meter again with everything off. If it still moves, something else is leaking. Covington's leak policy adjusts only the two highest months involved in a leak, so a second leak that keeps running drags the problem into another billing month.

If you are a City customer, send the request form and repair bill to the Public Works Office Coordinator through Customer Service, by mail or by fax, as the policy describes. Expect at least a week for the adjustment to be worked out, longer for a new service with no usage history.

While the request is being reviewed, the policy says no penalties accrue, but monthly payments are still required to keep the account in good standing. The leak adjustment guide has the details, and the calculator estimates what the leak cost.

When the emergency is a drain

A backup that shows up in a tub, shower or floor drain on the lowest level usually means the main drain or the sewer line is blocked. Stop running water anywhere in the house until it is cleared, including the washing machine and dishwasher.

If the house is on septic, say so when you call; a full tank or a failing drain field looks a lot like a blocked pipe from inside. The drain guide explains how to tell the difference.

If the backup is in a public sewer main rather than your own line, the utility needs to know. Your plumber can usually tell which side the blockage is on once the cleanout is opened.

A note on timing

Most of the cost of a plumbing emergency is decided in the first half hour: how fast the water was stopped and how much of the house it reached. The paperwork decided in the following days, photos, receipts and a clear repair bill, sets what you can recover from the utility or an insurer.

Sources for this page: City of Covington, GA: Water Rate Information (rates as of November 1, 2025); City of Covington, GA: Leak Policy and Leak Adjustment Request Form (PDF); City of Covington, GA: Leak Policy Forms; Newton County Water & Sewerage Authority: Water and Sewer Fees, effective July 1, 2025 (PDF). Checked 2026-10-30.