How to Shut Off Your Water in a Plumbing Emergency

A burst pipe or a failed flexi hose can pump out hundreds of litres of water in a matter of minutes. In those first moments, the most important thing you can do — before you call a plumber, before you grab towels, before anything — is stop the water. Knowing exactly where your shutoffs are and how to use them can be the difference between a minor inconvenience and a flooded home with serious structural damage.

This is genuinely one of those things worth knowing before you need it. Read this now, find your shutoffs while it's calm, and save this page for when it's not.

The Main Water Meter (Your First Stop in a Major Emergency)

For any serious water emergency — a burst pipe, a failed flexi hose, water spraying from a connection you can't isolate — the main water meter is how you stop everything at once.

In most Australian homes, the water meter is located:

• In the front garden, near the street boundary or footpath
• Inside a small rectangular pit (sometimes called a meter box) set into the ground — look for a metal or plastic lid flush with the ground or grass
• Occasionally on the side of the house, near the front corner

Open the lid (you may need a flat screwdriver to pop it up) and you'll find the water meter and a stopcock — usually a gate valve or ball valve. Turn it clockwise to close. On a gate valve, you may need several full rotations; on a ball valve, a quarter turn does it.

Right now, before you need it: go and find your water meter. Open the lid, note how the valve works, and make sure it's not stuck or seized. If it won't turn, call a plumber — a seized stopcock is a problem waiting to happen.

Under-Sink and Appliance Isolation Valves

For smaller issues — a leaking tap, a dripping dishwasher connection, a toilet that won't stop running — you don't need to shut off the whole house. Most individual fixtures have their own isolation valves nearby.

• Kitchen sink: Look inside the cabinet under the sink. You'll see the hot and cold flexi hoses running up to the tap. At the bottom of each hose, where it connects to the wall or floor, there's an isolation valve — typically a small flat-head screw or a lever. Turn it clockwise (or a quarter turn for a lever) to shut off just that tap.
• Bathroom vanity: Same as the kitchen — isolation valves will be under the vanity, on the pipes feeding the tap.
• Toilet: Look at the wall or floor behind the toilet base. There'll be an isolation valve on the cold water supply line feeding the cistern. Turn it off to stop water entering the cistern, which will stop an overflowing or running toilet.
• Hot water system: Your hot water unit will have a cold water inlet valve (on the cold supply coming into the unit) and sometimes a hot water outlet valve. Closing the inlet valve stops water entering the system.
• Washing machine: Tap valves should be on the wall behind or beside the machine. Turn both the hot and cold taps clockwise to close.

What to Do After You've Stopped the Water

1. Call a licensed plumber. In a genuine emergency — burst pipe, major leak, flood — call straight away. The sooner we get there, the less damage compounds.
2. Move valuables out of the affected area if it's safe to do so.
3. Take photos before cleaning up — for insurance purposes, document the damage before you move anything.
4. If water is near electrical fittings or power points, do not enter the area. Trip the relevant circuit breakers at your switchboard and wait for a professional.
5. Don't attempt to reconnect the water until a plumber has inspected and repaired the fault.

A Note on Strata Properties

If you live in a unit or apartment, the process is slightly different. You'll typically have isolation valves within your apartment for individual fixtures, but the main water supply to the building is controlled by the building's water main — which is the strata manager's or building manager's responsibility. Know who to call. In an emergency, your strata's after-hours emergency number should be saved in your phone. Your own isolation valves can still buy time while you wait.

Gas: A Different Emergency

If you suspect a gas leak — you can smell it, or you hear hissing — don't touch any switches or appliances. Leave the building immediately, leave the door open behind you, and call the gas emergency line: 1800 GAS LEAK (1800 427 532) for NSW. Do not re-enter until you're given the all-clear. Your gas meter (also located at the front of the property) has a shutoff valve as well, but get yourself out first.