I bought a house this month and have been unable to locate a main water
shut
off other than the one in the meter (under the sidewalk) that takes a
special
tool.
The tool, often made of re-bar with a slot-head, needed to shut off the
water at the meter is cheap and readily available at hardware stores. An
ordinary adjustable wrench will also work, just turn it 90 degrees to the
pipe direction, to turn it off. There may also be a shut off valve where the
service pipe enters the house.. if you can find that. The valve should be
just outside the wall of the house.