Find Your Main Water Shutoff in Branford Before It Freezes

Why Branford Homes Need This Done Now

Branford has plenty of older capes and shoreline cottages, some of them built as summer places, with water lines running through crawlspaces, unheated porches and drafty sill plates. A line that splits in January sends water into floors and walls every minute it runs. You want to be able to kill the water in under a minute, in the dark, without moving a single box.

For Regional Water Authority customers, the split of responsibility is spelled out. The RWA maintains the pipe from the water main to the curb valve out by the street. The service line from the curb box to the house, and the cellar wall valve inside, belong to the homeowner. The RWA owns the meter, but the homeowner is responsible for damage to it from freezing. The valve you will reach for in an emergency is the one inside your basement wall, and keeping it working is on you.

Five Things to Do This Week

• Find the valve. Follow the pipe that comes through the front foundation wall to the meter. The main shutoff is the valve on that pipe, usually on the house side of the meter, and some homes have one on each side. No basement? Check the utility closet, the crawlspace hatch, or the wall near the water heater.
• Close it and test it. Turn a round handle clockwise until it stops, or swing a lever handle so it sits across the pipe. Open a faucet on the top floor. If water still runs after a minute or two, the valve is worn out.
• Open it back up slowly. Turn it fully open, and on an old round handle valve back it off a quarter turn so it is less likely to seize. Watch the stem for a drip. A small drip often stops if you snug the packing nut just under the handle a little.
• Tag it and clear the path. Hang a bright tag on the handle, move the storage bins out of the way, and show everyone in the house where it is, plus the neighbor who checks on things when you travel.
• Protect the meter area. If the meter or the pipe near it sits against a cold wall or a drafty sill, wrap the exposed pipe in foam insulation and seal the draft with caulk or foam board.

Signs You Need a Plumber

• The handle won't budge. Forcing a seized valve can snap the stem while the water is on, with no way left to shut it off. Stop and call.
• It closes but water keeps running. Worn gate valves are common in older homes. A plumber can swap in a quarter turn ball valve that shuts off with one motion.
• The drip at the stem or the valve body won't stop. A leak right at the main has nothing upstream you can close, so get it fixed before winter.
• You can't find a shutoff at all. In a finished basement it may be buried behind drywall. A plumber can locate it and add an access panel or a new valve.
• The pipe at the wall is green, crusty or flaking. Corrosion where the service line enters the house is a weak spot. Have it looked at before the ground freezes.

If your main shutoff is stuck, leaking or missing, call us or use the form on this page and we'll connect you with a licensed plumber in Branford or East Haven. If a line has already split, our burst pipe repair page covers what to do next, and our frozen pipes guide covers keeping lines warm once the cold sets in.

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