City Main Water Shut Off Valve

Service valves in your home main shut off valve.

City main water shut off valve. Do not tamper with the city shut off side or the meter itself. If you get drips of water coming through your pipes even with the main shutoff valve completely closed it s probably time. Use the shut off key to temporarily stop and restart the water service to your property on your own. With the cover off you can see the water meter and the county s cutoff valve to the left.

The city s valve is always located on the street side of your water meter often near the edge of your yard. It is illegal to tamper with obstruct access to or remove a water meter. That s where the main water shut off valve comes into play. The main water valve on the street.

Be very careful and if you have any doubts at all call your local plumber or utility company. One that the city controls outside of your house and one that you can control inside the house. With the right materials and correct procedure it s a safe and easy repair. The first step is to physically search for your house s main water shut off valve on the inside of the home.

How to find and shut off main water shutoff valve. Turn the water on or off yourself. If your water line is 50 mm 2 inches or smaller in diameter you can borrow a water line shut off key for free also called a curb stop key. Internal main shut off valves are located in homes where the water line enters your residence.

Once again if there are two valves one on each side of the meter either one should work but the city prefers you shut off the one on the house side of the meter. Three ways to quickly locate the water shut off valve find the water shut off valve on the inside perimeter. Gate valves are somewhat unusual in residential plumbing and are more common in industrial applications. This valve is usually in the basement or on an outside wall in a utility area of the house.

In warm weather climates the water meter and main water shutoff valve will be located in the curbside box as just described or it could be attached to an exterior wall. The main shutoff valve allows a full flow of water through the pipe when it s open. For typical city dwellings there are actually two main shut off valves. Turning off this valve by turning it clockwise cuts off the water supply to the entire house.

Main water shutoff valves can become clogged with mineral deposits and grit causing slow leaks. In the event your inside main water valve fails there s one final backstop you can operate to shut off water to the house. Just like the ball valve the gate valve is an all or nothing valve designed to either allow full flow or shut it off completely. The picture below shows a typical water meter cover found in cities and counties across the u s.

Start by locating your water line and shut off valve.