How to Find Your Main Water Shutoff

Common locations in Aurora homes

In most houses around town, the municipal water line comes up through the basement floor on the wall facing the street. Look near the water meter first. The main shutoff usually sits just before the meter, within a foot or two of where the pipe leaves the concrete.

Finished basements make this harder. Builders and renovators often tuck the meter behind a small access panel in a closet, below the stairs or inside a utility room. If you see drywall where the pipe should be, tap along the front wall and check every cabinet and panel at floor level.

• Townhouses and semis: often in a mechanical closet near the furnace.
• Slab-on-grade or crawlspace homes: sometimes in a garage or a crawlspace hatch.
• Rural homes on a well: the valve sits after the pressure tank, not at a meter.

There is also a curb stop out near the property line, owned by the Town. That one is not for homeowners to operate; if the inside valve fails, the Town or a licensed plumber can deal with the curb stop.

Gate valves versus ball valves

Older houses frequently have a gate valve, the kind with a round handle you turn many times. Gate valves seize up when left alone for years, and a stiff one can snap its stem if forced. Newer homes, and many that have been updated, use a ball valve with a lever handle. A quarter turn closes it: lever across the pipe means off, lever in line with the pipe means on.

Testing it before you need it

Pick a quiet morning. Open a cold tap on the main floor, then close the shutoff slowly. The tap should taper to a trickle and stop within a minute or so. Reopen the valve gradually so the pipes do not bang.

A valve that turns yet never quite stops the flow is worn inside. We can swap it for a ball valve so you have one you can count on.

Labelling and access

Once you have found it, make it obvious. Hang a bright tag on the handle and write "MAIN WATER" in plain letters. Keep boxes, shelving and laundry baskets clear of the area so anyone can reach it in a hurry.

1. Show every adult and teenager in the house where it is.
2. Take a photo and keep it on your phone.
3. Note any secondary valves for the water heater, outdoor taps and fixtures.

Babysitters, house-sitters and tenants should hear about it too. For what to do once the water is off, see our burst pipe first-moves guide, and keep a copy of our emergency kit list nearby.

If anything turns up that worries you, such as a corroded meter connection or a weeping valve packing, give us a call. For urgent trouble there is emergency plumbing service.