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2023-11: Warosu is now out of extended maintenance.

/diy/ - Do It Yourself

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1183999 No.1183999 [Reply] [Original]

Hey guys, im at a loss here.
Our water was turned off by someone 4 days ago for reasons out of my control and I've been trying to find the water main to turn it back on but i can't find it ANYWHERE.

There's an old meter out on the street but it was covered in dirt so the guy couldn't have turned it off there.. (see attached).

Theres a couple pipes and levers attached to the front of the house but nothing happens when you mess with them.

Where else could you turn off someone's water from? he didn't go in the house or the garage.

The old meter is turned to the off position but it's impossible to move without potentially breaking it... plus it was buried in dirt.

>> No.1184001

You can turn it back on by paying the delinquent bill

>> No.1184004

>>1183999
the meter in picture is turned off. if the city or municipality turned it off there would be lock in the hole on the shut off valve in picture.

>> No.1184014

>>1184004
That is the intended purpose of the hole. IRL the hole gets filled by mud/dirt/corosion and putting a lock on it is a PITA.
Most residents are too stupid to know how to turn their water back on.
Turning it back on is illegal. Remember the valve is under pressure and has been sitting in the dirt for X number of years. It will take force to open it.

>> No.1184016

>>1184004
>>1184001

The bill was meant to be paid by the ex of one of the people staying here but he fucked us over for the long weekend by not paying until Friday afternoon.

That's what would normally happen but this meter appears to not been touched for a few years. I had to dig up what you can see in the picture.

>> No.1184018

Can they turn your water off from a different location?

If so, why did they need to send someone to the house?

And if he did come and turn something off it can't have been the meter pictured because it was buried and the plastic is scratched out so it's hard to read.

>> No.1184019

>Get garden hose
>Offer neighbor oral sex in exchange for letting you use their water
>Connect hose to their spigot
>Connect other end of hose to your spigot
>Enjoy water

>> No.1184022

>>1183999
>>1184001
>>1184016
Where I live it is illegal to turn off the water even for a delinquent bill.

>> No.1184024

>>1184022

They nearly turned off the electricity too..

>> No.1184150

>>1184022
This, water is considered a basic need.

>> No.1184157
File: 38 KB, 305x120, Service_Valve_Examples_305px.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
1184157

>>1183999
well for starters that valve looks off. maybe whoever shut it off covered it back up. or maybe thats an old one thats no longer used. otherwise, you will need to look for a valve box cover plate or stem. around here they are usually like pic related but you gave no info on your location so its hard to say

>> No.1184159

OP is just trying to nigger his way to free water... and you people are helping him commit a crime

>> No.1184172

>>1183999

That valve near the meter is turned off. It's a lockable gate valve. As long as there is not a white lock on it you are free to turn it on and off as you please. It is there in case you need to work on piping between the meter and the nearest stop clave. Like on a pressure valve

>> No.1184177

>it's impossible to move without potentially breaking it
Mine's hard to turn with an 8" adjustable wrench on it. I think that's normal.

>> No.1184178
File: 3 KB, 160x160, amazon.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
1184178

>>1183999
>>1184177

>Mine's hard to turn with an 8" adjustable wrench on it. I think that's normal.

Utilities have a special tool for it. I found one at a garage sale a while back, you may want to keep an eye out for it for the future... or maybe there's a store somewhere that has it.

>> No.1184182

>>1184022
Why does anyone pay then?

>> No.1184207

Agenda 21 in action anon, move in to hive city and enjoy diversity

>> No.1184270

>>1184182
Because sometimes they can legally dock your pay directly from your job if you don't pay. That depends on a lot of factors though. Like where you work for instance.

>> No.1184278

>>1184159
>free water
Implying this shouldn't be the norm

But yes I do understand what you're saying. Pay your water bill OP

>> No.1184280

>>1184278
>Implying this shouldn't be the norm

The fees associated with sanitation and delivery of your water should be "free", paid for by your taxes.

>> No.1184283

>>1184278
>>1184280
Then there would be no value to the water and people would abuse it by growing rice in a desert, or making bathtub generators to power their house.

>> No.1184422
File: 15 KB, 412x250, map.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
1184422

>>1184182
>Why does anyone pay then?

In Detroit, something like half the homes and business simply don't pay the water bill, then the city turns around and charges the suburbs out the ass for water to make up the difference.

Luckily I live in Warren, which while we still get our incoming water from Detroit, has it's own waste water treatment plant so my water bill is around $14 per month but in other nearby suburbs, the water bill can easily be over $100 per month.

This was the underlying reason for the whole lead tainted water issue in the city of Flint, which was flat broke and paying Detroit assloads of money for water, so they switched to the ancient existing system and we all know the rest of the story.

>> No.1184450

>>1184019
Works every time

>> No.1184457

>>1184422
$14? Jesus. I live in Calfornia and I pay less for metered water. How many CCFs do you go through in a month?

>> No.1184582
File: 18 KB, 1000x1000, water key.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
1184582

>>1184178
>Utilities have a special tool for it.

and it looks like this

>> No.1184585

>>1184582
Every hardware store sells them pretty cheap

>> No.1184689

>>1183999
Your picture clearly shows it's turned off at the meter. You can get a device that looks like >>1184582 has shown, or use a wrench/vise grips to turn it back on. Not hard even if you're not /fit/

>>1184004
This guy gets it.

>>1184014
>Turning it back on is illegal
Probably. But why no lock? That's a risk I'm willing to take.

>> No.1184691

>>1184422
>>1184457
>tfw I have my own well
>tfw there's fracking all around me

It's like I'm sitting on a time bomb.

>> No.1184719

>>1184689
im a water guy. there are multiple reasons i dont lock

1. if the family is black i dont use locks because they WILL turn it back on and if they have to cut off a lock chances are then they will destroy the pipes
2. if i have to reach in a dark hole full of spooky spiders or dirt im not going to use a lock
3. i look in the lock bin and there are none

its a tough job to turn off peoples water and i try to be pretty human about it. if you turn back on the water after it has been turned off by the city its a crime but lowest on the punishment (fine) totem pole. if someone cuts off a lock thats destroying city property. if they damage the pipes, meter, or valve it ratchets up a notch by a lot.

just know that the water company will come after you for turning the water back on. they will hit you with fines and if you dont pay them someone as your residence will have to be the fall guy.

>> No.1184721

>>1184283
This, I pay about $15 every 3 months for water, along with $25 for rubbish. The trashmen are thorough and even take a lot of big shit. Also, the city provides 2 huge grabage cans to each house.

>> No.1184722

>>1184422
>luckily I live in Warren
Said no one ever. It's detroit for white people.

>> No.1184725

>>1184278
>>1184280

The reason Commiefornia was fucked right up to this spring when God decided to try to drown them instead was because they didn't charge market rates for water.

>> No.1184776
File: 46 KB, 722x349, nightmare vision2.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
1184776

>all these faggots complaining about water prices.

You are like little baby.
Behold. Lake Isabella California water rates. Our local water companies and farmers got together and sold off our water rights to Diane feinsteins husband. Now its $75 a month and that's with severe water savings, using like 8ccf. And they drained the lake, the only source of tourist income for the area to feed Bakersfield.

>> No.1184789

>Paying for drinking water
Land of the free, eh?

>> No.1184813

>>1184022
Don't know about any of you, but I live in Ontariowe, and they will shut off any and all utilities for non-payments of bills...even through the winter...