Where Is the Main Water Shutoff in a Harrisburg Rowhome?

When a pipe splits or a supply line starts spraying, the first job is to stop the water, and that means knowing where the main shutoff is. Most owners have never looked for it. Finding it on a dry afternoon is far easier than finding it with water spreading across the basement floor.

Start at the front wall. In the pre-1940 rowhomes and older houses of Allison Hill, Midtown, Uptown and Shipoke, the water service usually enters through the basement wall that faces the street. The main shutoff is normally on that wall, close to the water meter, right where the pipe comes in from outside. Go down with a flashlight, face the street side and look low on the wall for a pipe coming through the foundation.

What the valve looks like. Older homes often have a round wheel handle, and you close it by turning it clockwise, usually several full turns. Newer or replaced valves have a short quarter-turn lever. When the lever sits in line with the pipe the water is on, and when it sits across the pipe the water is off.

Test it before you need it. Close the valve, then open a tap on the top floor and watch the flow stop. Open the valve again and let the air work out of the lines. Put a tag on the pipe and show everyone in the house, because the person home when something breaks is not always the one who knows the basement.

If the valve is seized. A valve nobody has touched in decades can lock up with scale and corrosion. Do not lean on it with a pipe wrench or slip a length of pipe over the handle, because a valve that snaps off can leave water running with nothing left to stop it. If it will not move by hand, call the line and we connect you with an independent local plumber who can free it or replace it, and if water is already running, see burst pipe repair for what that job involves.

The curb stop is not yours to turn. Out at the sidewalk there is usually a small cover over a second valve called the curb stop. That one sits on the utility's side of the system, and it is made to be operated with the utility's tools. If you cannot shut the water off inside and need it stopped at the curb in the City of Harrisburg, call Capital Region Water's 24-hour line at 888-510-0606 instead of reaching for a wrench.

Who owns the pipe. Capital Region Water says the homeowner is responsible for the service line between the main and the home. That is the pipe you shut off inside the basement, and it runs underground out to the street. If that line is the one leaking, the repair is the owner's to arrange, and water line repair explains how that job usually goes.

Check which utility serves you. The City of Harrisburg is served by Capital Region Water, but other nearby towns have other water suppliers with different ownership rules. Your water bill names the company, and that name decides who you call about anything at the curb. Inside the building the valve is your own, whoever supplies the water.

Keep the area clear. Boxes, shelving and old paint cans stacked against the front wall are the usual reason people cannot reach the main in a hurry. Leave a path to the valve and a spot for a flashlight nearby. If you cannot find the main at all, or the wall is finished over, call (717) 853-4052 and we will connect you with an independent local plumber who can help locate it.