How to Turn Off Your Water Meter

hi I'm Antonio I work for the Garland Water utilities department today I'd like to show you how to quickly and safely turn off your water in the event of an emergency there are two ways to turn off the water to your house either at the water meter or the house shut off valve it is important to make sure that everyone in your household knows how to turn off the water using both methods the city of Garland has a water main line that runs throughout the city and each home and Business in Garland has a service line that brings them water between your house and the water main along your service line there is a meter that measures the amount of water being used at your house the pipe before and including the meter belongs to the city of Garland and the pipe after the meter belongs to the homeowner water meters are found inside concrete meter boxes which are typically located within your property lines somewhere between the road and your sidewalk at this home you can see the water meter box is located along the very edge of the property line the neighbor's water meter box is also located around the same location on their side of the property line if your water meter box is not visible like this one it's probably covered by vegetation soil or hidden under brushes you may need to walk around the property line and poke around the ground to locate it other types of meter boxes may be located in this area as well like those for underground cable phone or Fiber Optic lines in the city of Garland there are six different types of water meter boxes located outside the residential homes when you're looking for your water meter box you will be looking for one of these Lids from the meter the Water Service typically runs in a straight line to the nearest faucet in your home which supplies water to your house the house shutoff valve is usually located here if you cannot locate the house shut off valve have a plumber come out and find it for you mark it so everyone in the home knows where it is in the event of an emergency now that you've successfully located your water meter box let's open it up to turn off the water quickly and safely here are the two tools you should use to turn off your water one the meter key to access your meter second the cut off wrench you can find it at your local hardware store this is the only tool you should use to turn off your water insert the key into the curved slot on the lid and turn it counterclockwise until you feel it unlock using the key as a hook remove the lid slowly and carefully set the lid aside take care not to damage the wires attached to the lid these wires help the city of Garland read your water meter quickly and accurately carefully place the cutoff wrench over the shutoff valve knob and slowly turn the wrench clockwise with a reasonable amount of pressure into it won't turn anymore be careful not to force the shutoff valve if the knob has not been used in a while it could be locked up forcing this valve can damage your meter you can also turn off the water at the house shutoff valve at this home the house shut off valve is located next to an outdoor spigot this one is inside a protected box but yours may be buried up to two feet underground when you're ready to turn the water back on turn the meter shutoff valve counterclockwise back into its original position be sure to turn the water back on slowly to prevent damage to your pipes do not leave the meter box open replace and lock in place the meter box lid when you're done being careful not to damage any of the wires or the meter read device attached to the lid to request water or Wastewater maintenance emergency service or report an issue visit Garland eassist or call 972-205-3210

Channel: City of Garland,TX

Views: 44,928

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Id: 8_Z_bUVBIXs

Length: 3min 53sec (233 seconds)

Published: Wed Jan 25 2023