To turn OFF the water to your house, follow these steps:

1. Locate your consumer valve (see photo below)
Consumer valves work best when they are near the meter.  There are two consumer valves.  One in the meter box, after the dial at the connection, and one at the house located near a hose bib or in the garage near the water heater.

2. Turn the consumer valve a quarter turn counter-clockwise
The consumer valve handle should be in the on position, parallel to the pipe. To turn it off, turn the valve a quarter turn so that it is perpendicular to the pipe as shown below.

3. If you cannot locate or turn off the consumer valve, call the Otay Water District to have a member of our staff turn off the meter valve. Your valve may look a little different.  Make sure everyone in your household knows how to turn off the water.  Do not try to operate the Otay Water District's valve (on the street side of the meter).

 

Set to off position
In case of an emergency,
call (619) 670-2207
 

To test for possible leaks in your system, follow these steps:

Make sure all faucets and water-using appliances, inside and out, are turned off.  Check the position of the hands on the water meter dial, and record the reading.

For odometer style meters, note the location of the sweep hand.  If your meter has a triangular leak detector, watch to see whether the triangle is turning.

For circular-read meters, note the location of the one-cubic foot hand (or the ten-cubic feet hand on 1-inch meters).

Without using any water, wait for approximately 30 minutes, then recheck the meter.  If the hand, or the triangle, has moved, or if the reading has changed, water is running (or leaking) somewhere on your property.

If you need assistance locating your water meter, please contact the Operations Department at (619) 670-2207.  Free toilet tank leak detector tablets are available upon request.  To order, please contact the Otay Water District's Conservation Manager at (619) 670-2290.