houseline water shut off

[Shelley F.]

Not sure if I am posting in the right forum or not...but I have a plumbing question in a rental That I am renovating. The city requires all new plumbing to have a shutoff AFTER the meter at the street. I found a box in the middle of the yard...a green rectangle. Thought AHA this is it! Opening it up, digging down a bit...this is what I find...the little squiggly lines are small roots etc. Does this open? How? Plumber coming tomorrow...but curiosity is killing me!