Well then. At about 7:15 last night, a pipe (actually, the water meter) burst and started flooding the basement. By the time I had a) located the water shutoff and b) busted the rust loose, there was about 1-4 inches of standing water.
Naturally, I couldn't get a hold of the plumber (there's only one in town) until this afternoon. In a way, I was lucky, since all he had to do was swap in a new meter. But I don't have a pump and the hardware store won't be open until tomorrow, so I've spent all of last night and today bailing water out by hand. The highest spot in the basement is now dry, so I've gotten maybe half of it.
Fortunately, there isn't any sheetrock or carpeting to worry about. Some of my brewing gear got wet/dirty, but it'll clean up. Some beer that was in cardboard cases will have to find a new home. Does anyone know if it's OK for coal to get wet?
I'm going to go take my first shower in five days, then have a beer or eight.