How to turn OFF your water now

Where and how to turn off your water

Knowing how to turn off your water at the council water meter or the isolation valve for an apartment or townhouse is generally something you don’t think about until you have a plumbing emergency with water flooding everywhere from a burst pipe or broken tap.

Whywait Plumbing recommends you do yourself a favour because the #1 plumbing skill you must learn is how to turn off your water supply connected to your home. Knowing where and how to turn off your water swiftly saves your carpet, wooden floors, kitchen cabinets, and furniture from water damage from a burst pipe.

Remember to exercise caution when removing the water meter cover. They can be homes for spiders and snakes. Ensure you wear protective gloves if the meter and valve are not easily visible.

Turning off your water if you live in a house

If you live in the City of Gold Coast, then your water turns off in the underground meter box for your home that is usually located as below:

·       in the council grass verge at the front boundary and usually at either the left or right side boundary

·       in a concrete or plastic pit with a metal or removable plastic lid marked ‘Water Meter.’

Once you locate the meter box and open the lid, which usually will require being pried open with a screwdriver or something similar, you need to:

·       Locate the stop valve or control valve, which is located in front of the water meter closest to the street

·       Turn off the valve, which can be challenging as there are a variety of valves used by the council for this purpose but using a pair of pliers or multi-grips on the handle will usually create enough force to turn the water off

·       if you cannot find a stop valve or you cannot get it to work, contact the council, as it is their responsibility to maintain it

Turning off your water if you live in a Duplex Unit

If you live in a duplex, you will usually have individual water meters for each duplex unit in the same manner as for an individual house, so follow the instructions above.

But if you live in some of the older duplex units, there is often only one water meter box and one water supply pipe for all of the duplex units. Therefore, turning off the water as per the instructions above will turn off every unit’s water supply. To turn off an individual duplex units water supply, we recommend the following:

·       Locate the stop valve that is for your duplex, which is usually outside on the wall in a copper pipe that will feed into your bathroom or laundry, or kitchen

·       when you find a valve, please turn off the stop valve to test it works, then go inside and turn on the taps to ensure they run dry after a short time

·       if you cannot find a stop valve for your unit or cannot get it to work, call us. We are available seven days a week and can schedule a service call now to rectify the problem

Turning off your water if you live in a townhouse complex

Turning off your water if you live in a high-rise apartment

Apartments are always challenging; even for experienced plumbers, it can be difficult to isolate the water supply. In addition, high-rise apartments vary considerably depending on when the high-rise was constructed. However, if you live in newer high-rise buildings, then in all likelihood, you will have individual water meters.

In theory, a control valve should only control and isolate your apartment’s water. But, and it’s big, but as there can be multiple valves for older high-rise apartments, so we recommend:

·       Look for a tap handle that appears to be all alone and appears to be for nothing under the kitchen sink or laundry tub or vanity unit, or under the toilet cistern

·       when you find a stop valve, please turn it off to test what specific taps it isolates because it is common to have separate valves for the kitchen and each bathroom

·       once you have found the valves and tested them make sure you write down the specific location plus which rooms are isolated and save it in a securely accessible place such as on the pantry door

·       if you cannot find any valves or are not able to isolate the entire apartment, be proactive and schedule a service call by one of our Plumbing Technicians to rectify the isolation valves now before you have an emergency

About your City of Gold Coast water meter

Every Gold Coast house has its own individual water meter. There may only be one meter servicing some or all dwellings in some duplexes, group or strata-titled properties. The water meter registers all water used at your property and is shown as water consumption on your account.

Water leaks on your property are your responsibility.

The registered property owner is responsible for the pipes and fittings connected to the water meter on the meter’s property side. As the property owner, you are responsible for the cost of all water registered by the water meter, including water lost due to internal leaks or concealed underground leakage. Regularly checking for and fixing leaks will save money and water.

If you can’t find your water meter or can’t operate the stop-valve in the water meter box, it is the responsibility of the City of Gold Coast to repair it by calling them on 1300 456 326