Short answer: your main water shutoff is usually where the water pipe enters the house, and your sewer cleanout is a capped access fitting on the sewer line, often near the foundation or in the yard. Find both before you need them. Digging to find either one is not a substitute for a mark-out.
The main water shutoff inside the house
Look where the water line comes through the wall or floor: a basement, a crawl space, a utility room, or near the water heater. The valve is usually either a lever you turn a quarter turn, or a round wheel that takes several turns. Tag it, so anyone in the house can find it in the dark.
Old round valves can seize. Forcing a stiff one can break it and leave you with a leak inside the house. If it will not move with normal effort, do not force it. Have a plumber replace it, and tell your water provider you need the flow stopped at the street.
The curb stop at the property line
Outside, the curb stop is the valve at the property line that separates the utility's pipe from yours. It is usually in a small box with a lid, in the lawn or near the sidewalk. The water utility usually owns and operates it. Do not dig for it or turn it yourself. Call your water provider, who can locate it and stop the flow. Who owns what past that point is explained in our water purveyors guide.
The sewer cleanout
A cleanout is an access fitting on the sewer line: a pipe with a cap or plug that opens into the line, so it can be cleared or inspected. Common places are outside near the foundation, along the side of the house, in the yard or at the edge of the driveway, and sometimes in the basement or crawl space. Look for a short upright pipe, or a fitting flush with the ground under a lid, often with a threaded cap.
If you cannot find one
Check the basement wall where the main drain leaves the house, the outside of the foundation, and the spot where the sewer line comes up from the street. If you still cannot find it, a camera inspection can show where the line runs and where access is. Our sewer camera inspection page describes the process.
Before you dig for either one
Digging for a valve or a cleanout is excavation, so call 811 first. Call before you dig explains what that call does. Do not open a cleanout cap during an active backup without a plan, because sewage can come out of an open line.
Write it down
Photograph each location, note its distance from a fixed point such as a corner of the house, and keep the note with your home papers. Label the shutoff and the cleanout, so the next person finds them without help.
If it is freezing
If a line may be frozen, the first steps are the same as always: check whether the neighbors have water, then call your water provider. Our frozen water line guide has the order of steps.
