How To Find Your Water Shut-Off In Prescott Valley
When a pipe bursts or a water heater leaks, the most useful thing you can do is shut the water off in the first minute. Most people do not know where their valve is until they need it, and in Prescott Valley the Town's responsibility ends at the meter, so the valve on your side is yours to find and keep working. Take ten minutes today. If you cannot find it, or it will not turn, call (928) 295-4186 and our team will find or replace it for you.
Inside the house
The Town of Prescott Valley says shut-off valves may be near the water heater or close to the meter. Look in the garage near the water heater, at the point where the main line comes into the house, often low on a garage wall or in a utility closet, and near the hose bib on the front of the house. It may be a round wheel or a lever. A wheel turns clockwise to close; a lever turns a quarter-turn so the handle sits across the pipe.
At the meter
The meter is usually near the street or the front property line, at ground level in a box with a lid. On City of Prescott water, the City says its meter is usually in a concrete box with a metal lid, with the customer shut-off in a separate box or tube just behind it. Use the customer valve, not the utility's. If there is no customer valve, call the water utility. On a well, turn off the pump's breaker too.
If the valve is seized
Valves that are never used stiffen with scale, especially in hard water. Do not force a stuck wheel valve with a wrench hard enough to snap the stem; you can turn a small leak into a big one. Try gently working it back and forth. If it will not move, our plumbers can replace it with a quarter-turn ball valve, which is simple to close in a hurry and much less likely to seize.
Label it today
Once you find the valve, tag it with a bright label and show everyone in the house how to close it. Keep a meter key or pliers nearby if the valve is at the meter. Check it once a year by closing and reopening it. Note where the water heater's cold supply valve is and, on a well, which breaker runs the pump. Then read what to do if a pipe bursts.