Whatever broke, we answer, day or night.
A broken sewer or water line, a cut fiber run, a washed-out road or parking lot, a flooded property. If we do the work, we do it 24/7. JWSR responds fast across Sussex, Warren, Morris, Hunterdon, Somerset, Passaic & Bergen County, NJ with the crew and equipment to dig it out, fix it, and get you back to normal.
Emergencies we respond to
Sewer line emergencies
Collapsed, backed-up, or broken sewer lines dug out and repaired fast.
Water main & service breaks
Located, exposed, and repaired so you get running water back.
Fiber & utility strikes
Fast, safe response when a fiber run or utility line is hit or exposed, on a jobsite or a state highway.
Asphalt & road failures
Washouts, sinkholes, and collapsed pavement on driveways, roads, and parking lots patched and stabilized.
Storm damage
Trees, flooding, and washouts cleared and stabilized, documented for insurance.
Failed septic
Emergency excavation for failing tanks and fields.
Flooding & drainage
Emergency grading and drainage to move water away from your home.
From your call to a crew on site
First, a real person answers, day or night, and asks the questions that matter: what failed, where, and how bad. If water is running where it should not be, we walk you through shutting it off at the curb or the main while the crew loads up.
Then we roll with the right equipment for the problem, not whatever happens to be free. Emergency markouts get called in where the utility companies offer them, the dig is opened safely, and the repair gets made or coordinated on the spot. Before we leave, the hole is backfilled and the site is safe, with any finish restoration scheduled in daylight if the emergency ran overnight.
You get a straight price before the machine starts wherever that is possible, and honest talk when the situation will not wait for paperwork. Nobody plans for a 2 a.m. water main break. The least we can do is make the next few hours predictable.
The first five minutes, by what broke
Some of these you handle yourself and some of them you should not touch. The two at the top are the ones where you call 911 before you call us, and we would rather say that plainly than have you wait on an excavator.
| What happened | Do this now | Then |
|---|---|---|
| A gas line got hit | Get everyone away from it, upwind, and call 911 from a safe distance. Do not create any source of ignition: no open flame, no electrical switches, do not start vehicles or equipment, and do not use a phone until you are well clear. If you are warning neighbors, knock with your hand rather than ringing the doorbell, because a metal knocker or a bell can spark. A static shock is more than enough. Natural gas ignites at about 0.28 millijoules, a static zap you can actually feel runs around 5 millijoules, and a person with no static precautions can easily put out 40. That is over a hundred times what it takes. | Call the gas utility once you are safe. Do not try to operate any valve yourself. Nobody digs again until the utility says so. |
| An electric line got hit | Treat it as live even if nothing is arcing, and keep everyone back, including from anything metal it may be touching. Call 911 and the utility. | If a machine is in contact with the line, the operator stays in the cab until the utility clears it. Getting out is the dangerous part. |
| Water is running where it should not be | Shut it off at the curb stop or the main. If you cannot find it or cannot turn it, call us and we will talk you through it while the crew loads. | Keep people away from any washout or hole. Moving water undermines ground faster than it looks. |
| Sewage is backing up inside | Stop using water. No laundry, no dishwasher, no showers, no flushing where you can avoid it. Every gallon that goes down adds to what is coming back. | Keep people and pets out of anything that has come up. If it is a septic system, the septic alarm walkthrough covers how much time you have. |
| Ground opened up, or a trench collapsed | Keep people and vehicles well back from the edge, not just off the hole. The ground around a collapse is the part that goes next. | If anyone is in it, call 911. Do not go in after them; trench rescue is a trained discipline for a reason. |
| A fiber or telecom line got hit | No immediate danger, but leave it where it is. Do not pull it, move it or try to tape it. | Call the owner of the line, then us. We have done emergency NJDOT telecom repairs and can coordinate the fix. |
| Storm damage you will be claiming | Photograph it before anything gets cleaned up or moved. Wide shots and close shots, with something for scale. | Then make it safe. We cover why in document it before you clean it up. |
The struck-line guidance follows PHMSA, the federal pipeline safety regulator, and 811 damage prevention guidance. This is general safety information, not a substitute for the instructions of the emergency services or your utility, who are the people to listen to on the day.
Who can actually shut it off
This is the part people lose time on. A leaking water service undermines ground and fills basements while somebody looks up phone numbers, and the person who can stop it is your water provider, because they hold the key for the curb valve at the street. Call them first. We come after the water is off, and we would rather arrive to a smaller hole.
| Town | Who to call | Number |
|---|---|---|
| Sparta | Sparta Township Water & Sewer Utility Sparta runs its own water and sewer as a township department, so one office covers the mains, the hydrants and your curb valve. Note that Sparta is not one water system but three, Lake Mohawk, Sunset Lake and Highlands, so say which one you are on. | 973-729-7133 |
| Hamburg | Borough of Hamburg, Water Superintendent The borough publishes this number directly on its water line survey correspondence to customers. | 973-832-9886 |
| Newton | Newton Water & Sewer Utility Newton runs its own water and sewer utility on a self-sustaining basis, out of 39 Trinity Street. | 973-383-3521 |
| Hopatcong | Hopatcong Borough Water Utility The borough utility is at 111 River Styx Road. Outside office hours, ask them or the borough for the after-hours route rather than waiting for the morning. | 973-770-1200 |
| Vernon | Vernon Township Municipal Utilities Authority (sewer) Vernon splits it: sewer sits with the MUA, created under Township Code Chapter 528, while water in parts of the township is a private company. For a water leak, check the name on your bill first. | 973-764-4055 |
| Franklin | Franklin Borough Water & Sewer Department The borough names this line for exactly this: water and sewer connections, watermain leaks, sewer line blockages and meter questions. Billing is a different number. | 973-827-7060 |
| Ogdensburg | Ogdensburg Borough Water Department Press extension 2 for the Water Department. For a break or a repair in the ground, the borough also lists DPW at 973-827-0166. | 973-827-3444 |
| Stanhope | Stanhope Department of Public Works Stanhope splits the job: DPW runs the physical water system, while the Water & Sewer office at 973-347-0159 ext. 10 handles billing. For water in the ground, call DPW. | 973-347-6368 |
| Hardyston | Hardyston Township Municipal Utilities Authority Press 3 for the HTMUA. It serves the Crystal Springs and Indian Field water systems, not the whole township, so much of Hardyston is on private wells with no curb valve to shut. | 973-823-7020 |
| Byram | Byram Township (there is no single water utility here) Byram is served by a patchwork of small water companies and lake-community associations rather than one township utility, and Sparta's utility serves part of it. The township keeps the current roster and will tell you which one is yours. Check the name on your bill first. | 973-347-2500 |
| Much of the rest of NJ | New Jersey American Water Their emergency line runs 24 hours, and they also take water emergency reports online. Report online. | 1-800-272-1325 |
Not sure which one is yours? It is the name on your water bill. Some towns are not one utility at all: Byram is a patchwork of small water companies and lake associations, and in Hardyston the MUA serves two systems while the rest of the township is on wells. If you are on a private well there is no curb valve to shut, and the shutoff is at your own pressure tank. Numbers verified from each provider’s own published source; confirm before you rely on one, because utilities do change.
Asked at 2 a.m., answered here
Do you really answer at night and on weekends?
Yes. Emergencies do not keep business hours, so neither do we. We have replaced a restaurant's water main starting at 2 a.m. so the business never closed, and handled emergency telecom repairs on a state highway. Call 862-268-2510 any time.
How fast can you be on site?
For most of Sussex County we can be moving within the hour, and the rest of our seven-county area follows road time. Call and we will tell you exactly when we can be there, honestly.
What should I do while I wait?
It depends what broke, and the table above gives you the version for each. The short one: if a gas or electric line was struck, call 911 before you call us. If water is running, shut it off at the curb stop or the main. If sewage is backing up, stop using water entirely, because every gallon that goes down adds to what comes back. Keep people back from the edge of any hole, not just out of it. We will walk you through it on the phone.
Water is coming up in my yard. Who do I call first?
Your water provider, not us, because they hold the key for the curb valve at the street and can stop the flow. In Sparta that is the Sparta Township Water & Sewer Utility on 973-729-7133, in Hamburg the Borough Water Superintendent on 973-832-9886, in Newton the Water & Sewer Utility on 973-383-3521, and in Hopatcong the Borough Water Utility on 973-770-1200. Much of the rest of New Jersey is New Jersey American Water, whose emergency line is 1-800-272-1325 around the clock. If you are on a private well there is no curb valve and the shutoff is at your own pressure tank. Once the water is off, call us and we will find the leak and repair it.
Can a static spark really set off a gas leak?
Yes, comfortably. Natural gas has a minimum ignition energy of roughly 0.28 millijoules. A static discharge you can actually feel is around 5 millijoules, and a person taking no static precautions can easily produce 40. That is more than a hundred times what it takes to ignite it, which is why the guidance is no switches, no vehicle ignitions, no phones and no doorbells until you are well clear.
I hit a gas line. Should I call you?
No, call 911 first, from a safe distance, and then the gas utility. Do not create any ignition source: no flame, no electrical switches, do not start vehicles, and do not use a phone until you are well clear. We would rather lose the call than have you wait on an excavator. Once the utility has made it safe, call us and we will handle the repair and the restoration.
Will insurance cover the work?
Often parts of it, depending on your policy and the cause. We document the damage and the work with photos and provide the paperwork your adjuster asks for. Storm damage especially should be photographed before any cleanup starts.
When something breaks, you need a crew that actually picks up and shows up. We have handled 2 a.m. water main repairs at restaurants timed around business hours, and emergency NJDOT repairs on state highways. We keep excavators, skid steers, bucket trucks, and the right tools on standby, and we are available around the clock.
Call or text 862-268-2510 right now. Tell us what is happening and we will tell you exactly when we can be there.
We show up after dark, too
A broken line doesn't wait for business hours, and neither do we. That's our crew and equipment on a night call, lights on, cones out, getting it dug and fixed while everyone else is closed.
Emergency? Call now.
24/7 response across Sussex, Warren, Morris, Hunterdon, Somerset, Passaic & Bergen County, NJ. Call 862-268-2510.
Call 862-268-2510