How to Shut Off Your Home's Main Water Valve

When a pipe bursts or a fixture floods, closing your home's main shutoff valve stops water to the whole house. Find yours now, while nothing is wrong, so you are not searching for it in the dark.

Your Valve and the Utility's Valve

There are usually two places to stop the water. The house valve, often called the main shutoff, is part of your own plumbing. The meter box, usually near the street, holds the water meter and a valve that belongs to your water provider. In an emergency, use the house valve.

Where to Find Your House Valve

Single-family homes. In many Southern California homes, the house valve is outside. LADWP says it is usually near the front hose faucet, or whichever outdoor faucet is closest to your water meter, and in line with the meter (the meter itself may be at the front or back of the property). LADWP notes it is often called the wheel valve. Other local water districts describe it as a valve on the pipe that rises out of the ground beside an outdoor faucet, at the front, side, or back of the house, and say it is sometimes in the garage (Western Municipal Water District, EMWD).

If you cannot find it, check:

• Each outdoor faucet along the front, sides, and back of the house
• The garage
• Your home inspection report, if you have one

Condos and apartments. Your unit may have its own valve, or the only valve may be in a shared area that also serves other units. Ask your HOA or building manager where yours is and whether you may use it. A shared valve can cut off water to your neighbors, so do not test one without permission (IWVWD).

How to Close Each Type of Valve

• Gate valve (round wheel): turn the wheel clockwise until it stops. It can take several turns. Do not force it.
• Ball valve (straight lever): turn the lever a quarter turn. When the lever runs along the pipe, the valve is open; when it sits across the pipe at 90 degrees, it is closed.

These directions match guidance from EMWD and SFPUC. To confirm the water is off, open the outdoor faucet next to the valve or a faucet inside. When you turn the water back on, open the valve slowly; Western Municipal Water District warns that opening it too fast can damage pipes.

Leave the Utility's Meter Valve Alone

The valve in the meter box is the utility's equipment, and the rules for it differ by water provider:

• Some providers allow only their own staff to operate it. Trabuco Canyon Water District's rules, for example, bar anyone but district employees from operating its meters and valves (apart from the customer's own control valve) and make people liable for damage they cause.
• Some meter boxes also have a separate customer valve. LA County's waterworks districts say most of their meters have one, often with a blue handle or an arrow showing the direction of flow.

So do not buy a meter key and turn the utility's valve unless your provider says you may. If you cannot find or close your house valve during a leak, call your water provider's emergency number, which is on your bill. LADWP customers can call 1-800-DIAL-DWP (1-800-342-5397); LADWP says the line takes emergency calls around the clock. If your home has no house valve at all, ask a plumber about adding one.

Fixture Shutoff Valves

Sinks, toilets, and washing machines usually have their own supply shutoff valves (Western Municipal Water District), so you can stop water to one spot and keep the rest of the house running:

• Toilets: a small valve on the supply line behind or beside the toilet
• Sinks: usually two valves in the cabinet below, one for hot and one for cold
• Washing machine: hot and cold valves where the hoses connect
• Water heater: usually a valve on the cold-water pipe that feeds it

Most turn clockwise to close, and lever-style valves close with a quarter turn. For a burst pipe or a leak you cannot trace, close the main house valve instead.

Do This Now, Before an Emergency

1. Find your house valve. Start at the front hose faucet, then check the sides, the back, and the garage.
2. Test it. Close it, confirm the water stops at a nearby faucet, then open it again slowly. If it will not turn, do not force it (IWVWD); forcing a stuck valve can break it.
3. Fix a stuck or leaking valve. A plumber can free it or replace it. A basic repair such as replacing a shutoff valve typically runs an estimated $200 to $500 in LA and Orange County.
4. Tag it with bright tape or a tag so you can find it in the dark.
5. Show everyone at home where it is and how to close it.

In an Emergency

1. Close the main house valve.
2. If water is near outlets, cords, appliances, or the electrical panel, stay out of that area. Only switch off breakers if you can reach the panel with dry hands while standing on a dry floor; otherwise, call your electric utility or a qualified electrician (ESFI, Red Cross).
3. Call a licensed plumber and describe where the leak is.
4. Soak up water with towels. Use a wet/dry vacuum only if you can run it without standing in water.
5. Photograph the damage and report it to your insurance company right away (California Department of Insurance).

For the full step-by-step, see what to do when a pipe bursts.

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Sources

• LADWP: Water Quality FAQs
• LADWP: Report Water Outage
• Western Municipal Water District: How to Turn Off Your Water
• Eastern Municipal Water District: How to Turn Off Water at Your House (PDF)
• SFPUC: Home Water Shutoff Valve
• Indian Wells Valley Water District: Locate Your Water Shutoff Valve
• Trabuco Canyon Water District: Rules and Regulations (PDF)
• LA County Public Works: Waterworks Districts FAQs
• ESFI: Flood Electrical Safety
• American Red Cross: Checking Your Home's Utilities
• California Department of Insurance: Residential Property Claims Guide