Concealed Water Leak
Have you received an excess water bill from your local council or notice a green patch in your grass or water across your drive way, even though it hasn’t rained, then you may have a concealed water leak.
A water leak of any sort is best found early as excess water is expensive.
What is a concealed water leak?
A concealed water leak is a water leak on your property that is not visible or hidden from view. A concealed water leak is generally a cracked water pipe in the pipes under the ground or inside a wall.
How do you find a concealed water leak?
Check your water meter. Take a pen and paper or smart phone down to the water meter. Your water meter is most often located at the front of your home on the boundary.
There may be soil or grass covering the box that will need to be cleaned to open the lid.
Write down the water meter numbers or take a photo. Make sure no water is being used in the home.
Wait approximately 20-30 minutes then re-check and write down the numbers. If the numbers are different, then you have a water leak. If they are the same then you do NOT have a water leak.
If the numbers are different, check your taps and toilets inside and outside of the home. If you do not see any obvious signs of a water leak, then you may have a concealed water leak.
A concealed water leak does not include the following –
Leaking taps, toilets, hot water systems or appliances.
Faulty plumbing
Sprinklers or irrigation systems.
Swimming pools, spas or water features.
Who pays for the excess water?
If you are the home owner then you are responsible for the water pipes on your property. This also means that you are responsible for the cost of excess water used or lost through a leak, even if it is concealed and you were unaware of any leak.
If you are the tenant of a home with a water leak, then you may also be responsible for the payment of an excess water.
If you are a tenant and suspect there to be a water leak, then we strongly recommend you contact your agent ASAP. It will be the landlord’s responsibility to repair the leak, and depending on your tenant agreement contract, you may be able to negotiate with the agent who pays for the cost of the excess water.
How to find a concealed water leak?
Your leak can be anywhere and in some cases you may now have water leaking up from a crack in the concrete. It is likely that the leak is not where it appears. If you start cutting up your concrete or house bricks and it is likely that you will have many holes and no leak located.
It is best to contact a company like Moyle Plumbing & Gasfitting to use specialised leak location equipment to electronically sonde to find the water leak with little disturbance to bricks, concrete and gardens.