Service Alerts
Your service may be interrupted for a variety of reasons. We make every effort to notify customers before interrupting service if a service outage is related to planned maintenance or improvement activities. However, emergency repairs require service to be shut off without advance notice.
SFPUC crews work tirelessly 24/7 to monitor the system and respond to water main breaks, power outages, and sewer issues regardless of weather, holiday, or time of day.
If you are experiencing a water, power, or sewer emergency or service problem call our 24-hour hotline at 3-1-1 or (415) 701-2311 from outside SF or log on at sf311.org.
Service interruptions are posted on Nextdoor by neighborhood.
Water Main Breaks
SFPUC operates and maintains 1,200 miles of water pipelines also called water mains in San Francisco. Approximately 20% of San Francisco’s water pipes are about 100 years old. Although we have an active program to replace aging and vulnerable water mains each year, we are not able to prevent all water main breaks. On average, there are between 100 to 200 water main breaks in our system per year.
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Dirty or Discolored Water
During a water main break, customers near the break may experience temporary changes to their water.
For those in the affected area, tap water may potentially appear brown or milky due to sediment stirred up until construction and service restoration is complete.
To address that, open the cold water tap as close to your meter (the sidewalk) as possible, and let it run for 3 to 5 minutes. If it is still brown or milky, wait one hour and repeat.
For additional information, please see our Dirty or Discolored Water Factsheet.
The SFPUC continues to meet all drinking water standards.