Cohasset · Emergency Plumbing
Water pouring from a pipe or sewage coming up in a Cohasset home? Make it safe, close the main, work out whether it's the town's problem or yours, then call to reach an independent plumber.
Cohasset, Massachusetts
A plumbing emergency in Cohasset can belong to one of several owners. The town Water Department runs most of the mains, a smaller part of town gets water from another supplier, the Sewer Commission runs the sewer districts and owns some grinder pumps, and everything on your side of the meter is yours. Spending one minute on who owns the failure can save you an hour of waiting on the wrong person.
The town has posted its own routing for nights and weekends. The Water Department's directory listing tells residents to contact the Cohasset Police Department for a water emergency after hours, and the Sewer Commission keeps a separate line for sewer emergencies. Neither office handles a burst pipe inside your walls, which is where an independent plumber comes in.
Call or send a request and you'll be put in touch with an independent plumber who takes emergency work in Cohasset. We're a referral site, so we don't dispatch anyone ourselves, and timing depends on the plumber you reach.
Any pipe putting out a steady stream needs the main closed now. A slow drip into a bucket can usually hold until morning.
A grinder pump alarm means the tank is filling faster than it empties. Stop running water in the house and call the Sewer Commission if the town owns the pump.
Sewage rising in a basement shower, floor drain, or toilet points to a blocked house line, a full septic tank, or a town sewer problem. Keep people away from it.
After a nor'easter pushes water into a cellar near the cove or harbor, wet electrical and gas equipment makes it a safety call before it's a plumbing call.
Local knowledge
Three local facts that change the first ten minutes of a Cohasset emergency.
After-Hours Water Line
The Water Department's directory listing sends after-hours water emergencies to the Cohasset Police Department. If water is bubbling up in the road or the whole street is dry, that's the call to make; a plumber can't repair a town main.
Source: Town of Cohasset directory
Separate Sewer Line
As archived in February 2026, the Sewer Department page listed a dedicated sewer emergency number apart from the Town Hall office line. Use it for an overflowing manhole, a town pump station problem, or a grinder pump alarm on a town-owned unit.
Source: Cohasset Sewer Department (archived page, February 2026)
Not One Water System
The town department supplies about 90% of Cohasset, its archived early 2026 page says, and the Weir River Water System's 2025 report lists North Cohasset customers. If your bill isn't from the town, report a street-side break to the company that bills you.
Source: Cohasset Water Department (archived page, February 2026)
Right now
Work down this list and act on the first step that fits what you're seeing.
If you smell gas, leave the house and call 911 or National Grid once you're outside. Don't step into a flooded cellar where outlets, the panel, or appliances are under water. Sewage on a cellar floor carries germs, so keep kids and animals upstairs until it's cleaned.
Close the main valve where the service pipe comes through the foundation, usually turning it clockwise. If a fixture shutoff under a sink or toilet controls the leak, closing that one keeps water on for the rest of the house.
Water surfacing in the road, or neighbors without water too, points to a main. After hours, the town directs water emergencies to the police; for a sewer overflow, use the Sewer Commission's emergency line.
If the house is on septic or a grinder pump, stop laundry, showers, and the dishwasher until the cause is known. More water just pushes the backup further into the house.
What to expect
The plumber will usually find the failure, stop it with a temporary repair or a cap, and explain what a permanent fix involves. In an older Cohasset house, that can mean opening a ceiling or crawlspace to find where the original pipe meets newer work, so clear a path to the cellar and the area below the leak.
Building & Inspections at Town Hall handles plumbing and gas inspections, and its page archived in February 2026 said permits are filed online. A middle-of-the-night repair can still call for a permit, so ask the plumber whether the work needs one and when they'll file it.
If the cause is a town grinder pump, a septic tank, or a street main, the plumber may stop at making your side safe and point you to the Sewer Commission, the Board of Health, or the water supplier. That's a sign of honest work, not a dodge.
Hire smart
Plumbing and gas fitting in Massachusetts require a license from the Board of State Examiners of Plumbers and Gas Fitters, and most plumbing work needs a permit from the town's plumbing inspector.
Every plumber in Massachusetts needs a state license. Take the number and check it on the state's occupational license search while the plumber sets up; it takes less than a minute.
Ask whether the repair needs a Cohasset plumbing permit and who will file it. Only a plumber with a Massachusetts license can pull one.
Ask for the emergency work and any follow-up repair to be written up separately, so you can take time over the bigger decision.
Photograph the damage before cleanup and note when you closed the main and when the plumber arrived. Your insurer may ask for both.
Costs
The biggest cost factor in Cohasset is whose equipment failed. A break in a town main, a town-owned grinder pump that clogged for the first time, or a problem at a pump station shouldn't land on your plumber's invoice, so call the right office before paying for a visit.
When the failure is yours, the hour of the call, how much wall or ceiling must come open, the age of the pipe that broke, and how busy plumbers are after a coastal storm all move the price. Ask how the visit is billed before work starts and get the temporary repair and the permanent one priced in writing.
More help in Cohasset
Every page below is written for Cohasset homes. Or start from the Cohasset plumbing guide.
Learning Center
A short list of the right questions tells you more about a plumber than any ad. Use these on the phone, during the site visit, and before you sign off on an estimate.
Read the guide
Massachusetts has some of the clearest plumbing rules in the country. Here is how to use them to pick a plumber with confidence, whether the job is a dripping shutoff or a full repipe.
Read the guideQuestions
Still not sure? Send a short request and a local pro can answer the specifics.
The town's directory listing for the Water Department says to contact the Cohasset Police Department for water emergencies after hours. If your water bill comes from another supplier, call that company instead. A plumber is the right call only once the trouble is on your side of the meter.
Stop using water in the house so the tank doesn't overflow. If the pump belongs to the town, call the Sewer Commission's emergency line. Under its one-strike policy, a clog caused by wipes or floss after the first one is billed to the resident, so tell them honestly what may have gone down the drain.
When you call, you'll be connected with an independent plumber who serves Cohasset, and whether they can come tonight depends on their schedule. Close the main and keep clear of wet electrical equipment while you wait.
Many pipe repairs do. Cohasset's Building & Inspections office handles plumbing permits and inspections, and its archived early 2026 page says permits are filed online. Ask the plumber to file it after the emergency work is done.
Stay out of the water until power to that area is safely off, and call 911 or National Grid if the panel or gas equipment is wet. Once it's safe, a plumber can check the water heater, drains, and sump, and you can ask about raising equipment above likely flood levels.
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