How to find a water leak in your home?
It's easy to locate a leaking tap or toilet, but hidden leaks are difficult to see. Has your water bill unexpectedly gone up even though you haven't changed your usage or behaviours in your home? Have you noticed wet patches on your lawn or water damage in your house? You may have a leak.
Who is responsible?
The property owner is responsible for repairing all pipes and fittings on the property that connect to the water meter within the boundary. However, your water supplier is responsible for fixing the water meter itself and will repair the water services between your water meter and the mains up to one metre inside the property boundary as a free service.
If you damage the water network, you need to pay for repairs.
You can lose a few litres of water an hour from a slow leaking tap, toilet, hot water service, solar panels, evaporative cooling unit, irrigation etc. and thousands of litres a day from a burst pipe in the cold or hot water mains.
How to check for leaks using your water meter
Turn off all taps and isolate water supply to toilets, dishwasher, washing machine, hot water service and irrigation .
Locate your water meter. It's usually at the front of your property.
Write down or take a picture of the numbers on the water meter dials. On most meters, the last two dials are red.
Don’t use any water for the one hour.
Check if the last two numbers on the dial have changed. If they do, you have water a leak. The greater the change, the bigger the potential leak.
ECV or TPR Valve
How to check for leaks
Check your hot water system's Expansion Control Valve (ECV) or (TPR) Valve which is used to control the increase in pressure caused by hot water.
Check your taps and toilets regularly for leaks.
Add a small amount of food colouring in your toilet cistern and check the bowl. Toilet cisterns shouldn't release any water between flushes.
Disconnect hoses or irrigation pipes that are always connected to garden taps. Then check the taps aren't leaking.
Look for green patches of grass that are different from the surrounding grass. This can mean you have an underground pipe leak.
If you suspect there's a leak, we recommend call a leak detection expert with specialist equipment.
How to fix a leak
Legally you are only allowed to do minor plumbing work like changing a tap washer. If the leak is inside your home or on your property, call us or your licensed plumber.
Most water suppliers will refund the cost of excess water you have used if there is a burst pipe on your property!
