Finding the stopcock and the water meter, and reading your water bill
Where the torneira de segurança and the contador usually are, a two-hour leak test, and what the lines on a Portuguese water bill mean.
Find it before you need it
The stopcock (torneira de segurança, sometimes válvula de corte) turns off the water to your whole home. Find it on a calm day, check you can turn it, and show everyone in the house. In an emergency, it is the first thing a plumber will ask about.
Where it usually is
- Flats: next to your water meter, often in a box on the landing or stairwell, or in a meter room at the building entrance. Many flats also have a valve just inside the front door or in the kitchen.
- Houses: in a meter box in the wall by the street or at the edge of the plot, with a second valve where the pipe enters the house.
- Individual valves (torneiras de esquadria) under sinks, basins and toilets let you isolate one fitting without cutting off the whole home.
If the stopcock is stiff, do not force it with tools: a broken valve is worse than a stiff one. Ask a plumber to replace it.
Reading the meter
The meter belongs to your water company (the entidade gestora, often the municipality or a municipal company). The black digits show whole cubic metres (1 m³ = 1,000 litres); the red digits or dials show fractions. Your bill uses the black digits.
The two-hour leak test
- Close every tap and make sure nothing uses water (washing machine, dishwasher, irrigation, toilet cisterns refilling).
- Write down the full meter reading, or take a photo.
- Wait one or two hours without using any water.
- Read it again. If it has moved, water is escaping somewhere after the meter: a running toilet cistern is the most common culprit, then hidden leaks.
Reading your water bill
Portuguese water bills usually combine three services, each with its own fixed and variable charges, and the details vary from municipality to municipality:
- Water supply: a fixed monthly charge plus a price per cubic metre that rises in tiers (escalões) as you use more.
- Sanitation (saneamento): the waste water you send to the drains, usually calculated from your water use.
- Waste (resíduos): rubbish collection, often charged through the water bill, partly fixed and partly linked to your water use.
You will also see a water resources fee and IVA. The volume billed comes either from a reading or from an estimate (estimativa).
Avoid estimated bills
Send your own meter reading (comunicar a leitura) by the app, website or phone line on your bill, in the reading window it shows. Estimates are corrected later, but a run of low estimates can end in a large catch-up bill.
Keep a note or photo of every reading you send. If the bill still looks wrong, contact the water company and, if needed, use the complaints book (Livro de Reclamações); the regulator for water and waste services is ERSAR.
Frequently asked questions
The water contract is in my landlord's name. Does that matter?
It matters for who receives the bills and who can talk to the water company. Many tenants transfer the contract into their own name; check your rental contract and ask the landlord.
Can I move the meter or the stopcock?
The meter belongs to the water company and only it can move or replace it. A plumber can add or replace valves on your side of the meter.