Plumbing in Ohio fails at the freeze, and the freeze is not equal. Shore houses and exposed walls take longer cold, so a supply line or a hose bib left charged will split. Inland houses often fail on the thaw after rain, when ice lets go and the joint weeps. Southern houses may see less of that and more of a slow leak in a damp crawl. Know the main shutoff before the night you need it. Old valves seize.
Galvanized lines in older cities narrow and pinhole. Newer suburbs are more often a different pipe with a different joint. Cast iron and clay sewers belly and catch roots. A cable can clear a clog and leave a broken pipe, so say opening or repair. Floor drains that reverse in a storm are not ceiling supply leaks. Sump pumps meet clay that will not carry water away from the wall.
Water heaters quit on the coldest mornings or leak down the jacket when the tank is finished. A garage unit inland can freeze in a snap that a basement unit survives. On the lake the basement itself can be cold enough to matter. Gas or electric changes the vent and the shutoff. Include the pan and where it drains. Say the fuel, and say if you have no hot water or a puddle.
Outside city water, a frozen well line is not a street-main call. Say that first if it applies. Indoors, name supply or drain and the floor. A rocking toilet often means the flange. If a claim may follow, shut the water off and photograph before a wall is opened. Sump discharge dumped at the foundation brings the same storm back inside.
Say burst, clog, sump, or water heater, and name the town. Mention a hose bib left charged. Say if the basement is rising. A shore freeze and an inland thaw leak are different stories, so pick the true one. Call the number on this page.