The building is shutting off the water tomorrow. How do I get ready?
Who pays, usually: The association or building owner usually arranges and pays for a planned shutdown as part of shared plumbing work, and you normally bear only small inconveniences, unless your own unit's work triggered it.
Filed under Probably the association's
For a building water shut off in your apartment, fill what you need tonight, close every tap, skip the washer and dishwasher, then run cold water first when it returns, and hold off on hot.
From the Whose Pipe Is It? desk. Sources last checked November 3, 2026. .
Most of this takes ten minutes tonight. Read the notice for the hours and which lines are affected, because a shutdown may only cover one riser, and your kitchen may stay on while your bathroom goes off.
The night before
- Fill drinking water for the time stated, plus some extra in case it runs over.
- Fill a bucket or two for flushing. Pour from a bucket into the bowl when the time comes.
- Shower, and run any washer or dishwasher loads so they finish well before the start time.
- Tell the manager now if anyone at home depends on water for medical needs.
- Charge your phone and find the emergency line in case the notice is unclear.
During the shutdown
Check that every faucet is fully closed, including the one you tried just to see if the water was off. An open tap is how people come home to a wet floor when the water returns. Don't start the washer or dishwasher. Don't try any valve to get water back, and don't go near any riser or building valve. If something seems wrong, ask staff.
Leave your water heater alone unless the notice tells you otherwise. Gas parts and relighting are for a licensed pro in any case.
When it comes back
Water's back on, in this order
- Expect spitting, air and possibly brown or cloudy water. That's usually sediment shaken loose, which is why you follow the next steps.
- Run only cold water first. Denver Water says to run cold at full pressure until it clears.
- Keep off the hot. San Francisco's utility says to avoid hot water until the cold clears, and DC Water warns that sediment could settle in your water heater.
- Before you drink or cook, let it run clear and cold, as New York City's water department puts it.
- Clean the aerators if the flow seems weak. Denver Water recommends this after an outage, and the EPA notes that sediment, debris and lead particles can collect in them.
- Hold back on washing whites until the water has been clear for a while.
Those utility instructions were written for street-level work, so ask your building about anything particular to your system. If the water stays dirty, pressure doesn't return, or one faucet stays weak, tell staff. If you hear banging pipes for some time afterward, mention that too.
Shutdowns are often part of larger riser work, so it's worth asking whether more are coming. New York City's water department says people in apartment buildings should check with their building supervisor, and that holds true wherever you are.
If you own
Ask the manager what the work is for, and whether it affects your unit's valves. If your own plumbing project is why the shutdown is needed, ask what's being charged back to you, since some rules allow that. This is also a good moment to locate your own valves.
If you rent
The notice normally comes from your landlord or building. If you get no notice, or if the water doesn't return when promised, tell the landlord in writing and keep a copy. A long or repeated outage is a different matter from a planned morning, so note the times.
The short of it
Fill some water, finish the laundry, close every tap, and leave the valves to staff. When it returns, run cold until it clears before you use the hot.
Asked next
Does the toilet work during a shutdown?
One flush usually still works from what's in the tank. After that, pour water from a bucket into the bowl. If the shutdown covers drains or a stack as well, the notice should tell you not to use them, and you should follow that.
Is the hot water still in your tank usable?
You may get a little from a unit heater, depending on pressure, but it's best to wait. Using hot right after the water returns can draw sediment into the tank. Leave it until the cold runs clear.
Why is the water brown afterward?
Pressure changes can shake loose sediment from old pipes. Utilities describe clearing it by running cold water. If it hasn't cleared after a reasonable run, stop and tell staff.
Read it yourself
- Denver Water, interruptions in your water service: running cold water and cleaning aerators, read Nov 3, 2026.
- NYC Department of Environmental Protection, water shut-offs: clear and cold before use, building supervisor, read Nov 3, 2026.
- San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, discolored water: avoiding hot water until the cold clears, read Nov 3, 2026.
- DC Water, hydrant inspections and discoloration: sediment and water heaters, read Nov 3, 2026.
- EPA, basic information about lead in drinking water: what collects in aerators, read Nov 3, 2026.