Emergency Preparedness
Knowing where your shutoff is before a pipe bursts can save thousands in water damage. This is the most important thing to find in your home today.
+1 (971) 293-4200 Call Now — We Answer 24/7Find all three now. In an emergency, you’ll use whichever you can reach first.
Usually near where the supply line enters the home — in the basement, utility room, or crawl space access point. Turns water off to the whole house.
Located in a concrete box at the property line, typically at the sidewalk edge. Requires a meter key or flathead screwdriver for older gate valves.
Under every sink and behind every toilet. These shut off only that fixture — useful for an isolated repair without cutting the whole house.
For street-side emergencies or a stuck meter shutoff, call Portland Water Bureau at (503) 823-7404. They can shut the street valve if the meter shutoff is inaccessible.
The interior main shutoff is the fastest and easiest to reach in a burst pipe emergency. It’s located inside the home where the water supply line enters from the street — typically in the basement near the front wall, in a utility room, or near the crawl space access hatch. Turn this valve clockwise to close. On a ball valve (lever handle), turn the handle perpendicular to the pipe. On a gate valve (round wheel handle), turn clockwise until it stops.
Do this now, before any emergency: find the shutoff, confirm it turns freely, and tag it with a piece of tape or a marker so anyone in your household can find it in the dark under stress. A shutoff valve that hasn’t been operated in years often seizes. If yours feels stuck, don’t force it — call us to have it replaced with a ball valve before the next freeze season.
Portland Water Bureau meters are housed in a concrete or plastic box set in the ground near the sidewalk edge or property line. Lift the lid — some require a meter key (a T-shaped tool available at hardware stores) and some have a pull handle. Inside you’ll see the meter register and, on most Portland installations, a shutoff valve on either side of the meter or a curb stop before the meter.
The customer-side shutoff (on the house side of the meter) can be operated with a flathead screwdriver or a quarter-turn ball valve depending on installation age. Turn clockwise to close. Older gate valves in pre-1970 Portland installations may require multiple full turns and should be operated slowly to avoid shocking aging fittings.
The street-side valve (before the meter) is Portland Water Bureau property. Do not operate it. If the customer-side valve is inaccessible or seized, call Portland Water Bureau at (503) 823-7404 — they operate 24 hours and can shut the street valve in an emergency.
In most Portland neighborhoods, the water meter is located in a box along the public sidewalk, directly in front of the property. In some inner SE and NE neighborhoods with older utilities, the meter may be closer to the house near the foundation. If you can’t find it, check your Portland Water Bureau account — the meter location is on file.
Step 1 — Get to the interior main shutoff immediately. Turn the valve clockwise to close. If it’s a lever (ball valve), rotate it perpendicular to the pipe direction. Time from burst pipe to shutoff should be under 60 seconds if you know where the valve is.
Step 2 — Open a faucet at the lowest point in the house (a basement utility sink, or a ground-floor bathroom faucet) to let remaining pressurized water drain from the pipes. This relieves residual pressure and reduces dripping from the burst section.
Step 3 — If the interior shutoff didn’t fully stop flow (partial seat failure on an old gate valve), go to the meter box. Bring a flathead screwdriver and a meter key if you have one. Close the customer-side valve at the meter.
Step 4 — Call for emergency plumbing service. The repair itself is usually quick. The most important action — limiting the water damage window — is already done.
Every toilet, sink, dishwasher, and washing machine has its own shutoff valve. These are for isolated fixture failures — a toilet supply line crack, a sink valve failure, a dishwasher line split. Fixture shutoffs let you stop water to the problem fixture without cutting the whole house. Check that each fixture shutoff turns freely once a year. Many Portland homes have original fixture shutoffs that are 30–40 years old and have never been operated — these often seize or fail when first turned, sometimes creating a second emergency.
Once water is off, document the damage with photos and video before touching anything. Move electronics, rugs, and furniture away from wet areas — after photographing. Then call for emergency burst pipe repair. Our team arrives with repair materials on the truck — for most residential burst pipe repairs, we complete the fix in one visit. Full details on what the repair involves and what it typically costs in Portland are at our burst pipe repair Portland page — the same licensed team that handles the repair also provides the insurance documentation your adjuster will need.
Pipe burst and you can’t find the shutoff? Call us — we’ll walk you through it by phone while a plumber is on the way.
Call +1 (971) 293-4200Portland homeowners ask these in the middle of emergencies — know the answers now.
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