Water Main Shutoff

We are trying to shut off our water main but are having some problems. The main shutoff valve is a copper tee that sits within a concrete tube. It turns clockwise but when we go to shut it off, it starts to squirt water, but it stops when we go to turn it back. Is this normal or should we keep turning it further or what? Thanks for your help.

valve

You could have a stop and waste valve, in which case, that is what it is supposed to do in order to drain the water out of the pipe. If not then you have a bad valve.

Most likely it is a stop and waste valve and is operating correctly. This means that when you turn the valve to the off position, a small hole is opened to drain the water out of the pipe. It should not be under pressure and will stop as soon as the pipe is drained.