Water where it shouldn't be
Pipes that might be old
A freeze is coming (AI picture)
After a flood
A smell you can't place
Who to call and what they need
Whose water, town by town
Every picture on the walkFront yard, stop 2 of 5
Find your house shutoff before a pipe breaks
Your main water shutoff valve stops all the water going into the house, and common spots are near the foundation, at the meter or above the water heater.1 Find it on a dry day and try it. Many homes don’t have one at all.2
Stand outside at the wall nearest the street, then go to the water heater closet if nothing turns up there.
Updated , Midlands House Walk
Is it at the foundation?
- Look for
- Walk the street side of the house and part the shrubs. You’re after a pipe coming out of the ground and into the wall, with a lever or a round handle on it.1
- What it tells you
- Columbia’s customer guide draws a House Cut-off on the owner’s side of the meter.4 One out here lets you stop a leak without going indoors. Close it and try a kitchen tap: no water means you’ve found the main.
Is it above the water heater?
- Look for
- Open the closet and look up. Clemson lists this as a common shutoff spot, and it tells you to find both the main and the water heater shutoff.1
- What it tells you
- A valve up here may feed only the heater. Close it and try a cold tap at a sink. If cold still runs, this is the heater’s valve, so keep looking. More on that closet at the water heater stop.
Could it be under the house?
- Look for
- Shine a flashlight through the hatch and stay outside. Follow the line coming from the street side. The hatch stop covers what else shows from there.
- What it tells you
- A valve you’d have to crawl to is little use in a burst. Columbia’s notice recommends every property owner have an emergency shutoff,2 so ask a plumber about one you can reach.
What about the valve at the meter?
- Look for
- Clemson counts the meter among common shutoff spots.1 Columbia’s notice says the cut-off inside the box is usually the utility’s.2
- What it tells you
- Customers normally may not adjust it, and the January 2018 permission was only for that freeze.2 Read what’s in the box. If another utility serves you, ask it what it allows.
A pipe has burst. What comes first?
Close the main shutoff. Stay clear of power if water has reached it, and never touch power while standing in water.3 Bursts often aren’t noticed until temperatures climb back above freezing,1 so check again as a cold snap ends. Water where it shouldn’t be has the next steps, and a freeze is coming helps you get ready.
Yours to do
- Find the valve and tie something bright on it.
- Close and reopen it once before cold weather, as Clemson advises.1
- Show everyone at home where it is and which way closes it.
- Keep shrubs and mulch cut back from it.
For a licensed pro
- Fitting a shutoff where the house has none.
- Replacing a valve that’s stuck, weeps at the stem or doesn’t stop the water.
A short film for this stop
A water utility shows where a house's main valve is often found, near where the line enters or in a utility closet, and why to mark it before an emergency. From Western Virginia Water Authority, an outside channel; it loads from YouTube only when you press play.