One call reaches a licensed local plumber who replaces water heaters in Squantum, usually the same day. Know what a fair price looks like before anyone arrives.
(617) 549-573424 hours, 7 days
About 3,000 people live on the Squantum peninsula, and East Squantum Street is the only road on or off. The Boston Globe reported in 2025 that a resident counted four times in seven years when the road could not be driven, including the storms of 2018, 2022 and early 2024.
If a water heater lets go during one of those tides, a plumber may not be able to reach the house until the road opens. The two things that stop the damage are in your own basement. Close the cold water valve above the heater, then turn off the gas control or the breaker. The steps, with which way each valve turns.
It is worth finding both valves on a dry day.
The same Globe report said flood water in Squantum often comes up through the sewer drains, not over a seawall. In a storm, do not count on the basement floor drain to take the water from a leaking tank. Run the drain hose out a door or a window instead.
If flood water reached the heater, leave it off. Bradford White's manual says not to use a heater if any external part of it has been under water. What to dry, and what to throw out.
Quincy's permit for a water heater that needs plumbing and gas is $60. The city's permit office.
Updated October 2026
No. This is an independent referral site for Squantum. Calls go to a local licensed plumber. Ask for the license number on the call.
Turn off the cold water supply valve on top of the heater, then shut off the gas valve or the breaker. Put towels down and move anything valuable off the floor. Then call.
The landlord's. Massachusetts requires landlords to supply hot water and to fix a failed heater promptly. Shut the valve, photograph the leak, and notify the landlord in writing today. If you need the number for a plumber because the landlord asked you to arrange it, that is what this line is for.
Usually the unit owner for the heater itself and any damage inside the unit; damage to units below or common areas goes through the association's master policy and your HO-6. Document everything before the plumber removes the old tank.
Yes. Massachusetts requires a plumbing permit (and a gas permit for gas units). A plumber who says you do not need one is a warning sign.
No. You pay the plumber directly for any work you agree to.