Where Is My Main Water Shutoff? A Phoenix Home Guide

The best time to find your shutoff valve is now, before you need it. Take five minutes this weekend.

The two valves you should know

1. The house (customer-side) shutoff

This is the valve you're meant to use. In many Phoenix-area homes, especially slab-built houses from the 1970s onward, it's:

• On an exterior wall facing the street, often near a hose bib, sometimes behind a small access panel or inside a short pipe "riser" coming out of the ground
• In the garage, near the water heater or where a water softener ties in
• Near a pressure regulator (a bell-shaped fitting) on the main line

It may be a lever (ball valve), which is closed when the handle is crosswise to the pipe, or a round wheel (gate valve), which you turn clockwise until it stops.

2. The meter valve

Your water meter is usually in a rectangular box near the street or sidewalk. The meter has a valve on the city side. Some utilities ask homeowners not to operate it, and it may need a special key. Use it only in a real emergency when you can't find or close the house valve, and check your city's rules.

Test it

1. Turn the house valve off.
2. Open a faucet inside. The flow should stop within a few seconds.
3. Turn it back on slowly.

Old gate valves sometimes won't close all the way or start to leak once they're moved. If yours is stuck or seeping, have a plumber replace it with a ball valve before an emergency.

Other shutoffs worth knowing

• Water heater: the cold-water inlet valve on top of the tank.
• Toilets and sinks: the small oval valves on the supply lines below each one.
• Washing machine: the hot and cold valves in the laundry box.
• Refrigerator ice maker: often under the kitchen sink or behind the fridge.
• Irrigation: a separate valve, often near the backflow preventer in the yard.

Leaving for the summer?

Many Valley residents travel during the hottest months. Shutting off the main while you're gone (unless your irrigation or fire sprinklers need it, so check first) is the simplest way to keep a small leak from becoming a big one while nobody is home.

General information. If you're unsure, ask a licensed plumber.

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