The Water Meter Test: Catch a Hidden Leak Before It Becomes an Emergency

As far as plumbing problems go, hidden leaks are at the bottom of many people’s priority list. And it is understandable, because not only are they “hidden”, they do not cause the kind of “visible” damage that burst pipes or sewer backflows can cause.

In this Premium Sydney Plumbers guide, we are going to be looking at the dangers of a hidden leak.

We are talking about potentially hundreds to thousands of dollars worth of danger here, because hidden water leaks waste litres of water that could damage property while leaving you with a large water bill you must offset.

You will learn why these leaks should be at the top or near the top of your priority list, and how to uncover these leaks to stop the leaking of your finances.

Why Bother About Hidden Water Leaks?

There are many reasons why you should bother about hidden water leaks.

Nobody would like to wake up one day to see that their expensive flooring is giving way in one section, or their walls are starting to get mouldy around wet patches. These are structural issues and health risks that could both tank the value of properties and cost a lot of money to deal with. These reasons are already enough to get anyone to start inspecting every nook and cranny of their property where plumbing fixtures and fittings are.

A more important reason to care about hidden leaks is the economic situation of the country. The cost of living in Australia is rising, so being hit with increased water bills is something that nobody wants to deal with.

Hidden water leaks waste thousands of litres of water yearly. If you have a hidden leak in your home, you could be wasting hundreds of litres of water monthly. This will show up in your water bill, which you definitely have to pay to keep the water running in your home or on your property.

As if that is not enough, you could also be dealing with rising electricity and energy costs because of leaking hot water systems. And you will be clueless as to why your bills keep rising, because the problem is ‘hidden’.

The Five Signs You May Have a Hidden Leak

• A sudden increase in your water bill

Hidden leaks still move the water meter in your home or on your property because it counts as water being used. Water being used translates to water that must be paid for. This will reflect in your payment bill. So, when you see a rise in your bill and cannot reconcile your usage with the figures you see, check for leaks.

• Unexplained wet patches

If you have a yard and a small garden and you notice some wet patches where there shouldn’t be any, your garden irrigator pipes may have been damaged. Take the opportunity to check for wet patches inside as well, because leaks may be elsewhere too.

• Warm floor spots

If you have working hot water systems on your property and notice that some areas of the flooring feel warm even when they are not active, it could mean a leak in the pipes that have seeped into the flooring.

• Damp walls and paint bubbles

When water hits your walls from within, they feel damp and loosen the paint on them. You start to see bubbles which could either dry up to discolour your walls, or expose the material underneath. Check for a leak in the wall area immediately.

• Water running even when tap is off

Sometimes you hear a slight running of water even when the tap is off. Trace that sound and you would usually find a leak somewhere from where water is escaping steadily onto your property, bathroom floor or walls.

The above are the main signs of a water leak. Some other signs you may need to pay attention to are musty smells, mould growth, low water pressure and a very healthy garden or patch of grass even when the weather is dry.

To confirm your suspicions after seeing these signs, do a meter test.

Find Your Hidden Water Leaks With the Water Meter Test

Your water meter records every litre of water that Sydney Water sends to your property after paying your bill. This is what helps you calculate what you owe them at the end of the billing cycle.

If nobody is using water and the meter continues to move, the most plausible explanation is that water is escaping somewhere in your plumbing system. If you pay attention to it, you will be able to detect the leak before the signs start to show.

If the signs show before you see the meter’s readings, then you have to do a water meter test to be sure that the signs you’re seeing are leak-related.

Here’s how to do the water meter test:

Step 1: Turn Off Every Water Fixture and Locate Your Water Meter

Switch off every tap inside and outside your home and make sure no one uses anything, including the garden hoses, the garden irrigator or the sprinkler systems. Leave the main water supply turned on, however, so you can see if the meter will move.

As a Sydney resident, your water meter should be near the front boundary of your property. If you live in a strata building, it should be somewhere in your kitchen. Once you locate it, record whatever reading you see there, paying special attention to the smaller red digits (flow indicator).

Step 2: Wait One Hour Before Reading the Meter Again

Try not to use any water for one hour from when you took the first reading till your next one. The best time to do this is usually at night because everyone will be asleep and there will be little need to use water.

After one hour, check the meter’s readings and compare it with the first one you took. Many modern meters have a small spinner or star wheel. If this wheel rotated during that one hour of no water usage, it means there’s a leak somewhere.

At this stage, check the most common sources of water leaks in a home, like taps, hoses, toilet cisterns and supply pipes. The toilet cisterns are an especially notorious culprit with regards to hidden leaks. After checking other fittings, drop some food colouring in the cistern and if the colour seeps into your toilet bowl after some minutes, you have found the culprit.

If you cannot find leaks in the toilet cisterns and the other plumbing fittings, call for our Premium Sydney Plumbers to come and check out your underground pipes.

Step 3: Read Your Water Bill Like a Plumber

While the first two steps help to point you towards the source of the leak, reading your water bill confirms it before you even see the source.

When it comes to water bills, many homeowners focus only on the total amount they owe. They see their current bill and compare it with the last one, and become agitated or start agitating with the water company.

If a professional licensed plumber were to receive a bill with a significant monetary increase, the first thing they would look at is the water usage.

Instead of comparing the dollar difference, they would compare the number of kilolitres used against the same billing period last year. Using kilolitres in this case is deliberate because water prices change regularly, but many household habits rarely change.

If there is a sudden jump in water usage without a clear explanation according to the bill comparison, that calls for immediate attention. It is after this that you can start to check for leaks, or perform the meter test if you haven’t.

Where Hidden Leaks are Usually Found

Over many years of working across Sydney as Premium Sydney Plumbers, we have noticed that most leak problems happen in the same spots in different homes.

1. Under Concrete Slabs

Many Sydney homes have water pipes that run beneath their concrete foundation. Leaks in such places go undetected for long periods, mostly because the water disappears into the soil.

Sometimes, though, the leak shows signs. Some of the warning signs that you need to check underneath concrete slabs are:

• Warm tiles or flooring
• Rising hot water costs
• Damp flooring without an obvious source
• Mould appearing along skirting boards
• The water meter moving when everything is switched off

Studying the water bill to see the changes and calling a leak detection specialist are the only ways to really confirm that there is a leak. The specialist will use their leak detection equipment to find the problem.

2. Underground Water Supply Pipes

Sydney Water supplies water through underground pipes, some of which are decades old. The ones serving your property may have corroded or cracked a little, leaking water and increasing your water bill. And of course, because they are out of sight, you cannot tell until you get a leak detection specialist.

Some of the signs that you need to check your water network for the leak are:

• Constantly soggy soil
• Bright green grass during dry weather
• Soft ground around walkways and pathways
• Unexpected wet patches
• High water bill

It is easy to mistake some of these signs for overwatering, especially if you have a garden irrigator or functioning automatic sprinkler systems. Again, check your water meter and the bill, then call a specialist.

3. Inside Walls and Floors

This is one of the most common ones. Unlike the first two, however, you will immediately notice it because they will leave very visible damage on your surfaces. You will face everything from peeling and bubbling paint, to musty smells, to mould growth to soaked floorboards, plasterboards and insulation.

In this case, finding the leak and fixing it always comes with the extra cost of replacing the damaged parts. It is a very expensive fallout of hidden water leaks.

4. Hot Water Systems

Older hot water systems with a leaking relief valve are another common source of concealed leaks. They will just keep releasing water without drawing attention, some of which may seep into walls and floors. Your water and energy bills will increase as a result, while leaving you with a damaged system that you have to replace and structural issues that you have to repair before the whole property loses value.

5. Outdoor Plumbing and Irrigation

The plumbing fittings outside the four walls of a home or building rarely get attention, but they are a source of water leaks that move the numbers on your water meter. If you have a garden with some irrigation, check the garden hoses and irrigators often. If you have a regular yard but have fittings and pipes outside, check them regularly too.

In our work as Premium Sydney Plumbers, we have seen that the majority of the burst pipes we deal with happened because property owners or renters ignored their water meter to find those small pinhole leaks.

Over time, these small leaks widen and damage sections of the pipe, leading to a burst pipe situation. The earlier a problem is found, the more repair options are usually available. If not, then it is either replacement or a total overhaul, which is usually more expensive.

Modern Leak Detection Equipment Explained

The reason you need a leak detection specialist is because of their expertise with the equipment that can find the source of your problem.

Depending on the type of leak and the suspected location of the leak, they can use either acoustic correlators, thermal imaging cameras, infrared cameras, a CCTV camera, or tracer gas.

Acoustic correlators are one of the most used because they are highly sensitive and can pick up the sound of pressurised water that is escaping from underground locations, narrowing down the leak to a small area. Thermal imaging and infrared cameras are good to check your hot water pipe for leaks because it will notice any temperature changes caused by escaping water.

Tracer gas is used to find those very tiny leaks. It is basically the big gun with respect to leak detection, because some leaks are too small to be seen using sound or imaging from cameras. In these situations, the specialist will introduce a safe tracer gas into the pipe. If there’s a leak, the gas will escape through it and the equipment above the ground will detect the escaping gas.

If there is a need to dig up pipes after leak detection, the specialist will use pipe location devices to map the underground pipes so that they do not break or dig up the wrong ones.

Understanding the Hidden Leak Allowance

Sydney Water introduced this allowance to help homeowners and property owners mitigate the cost of the damage that hidden leaks can cause.

If you’ve been paying increased water bills for a while, noticed leak signs or damage due to leaks, and you confirm there is indeed a leak after a plumbing inspection, you can apply for this allowance.

It is financial assistance from Sydney Water to help you with the repairs and to reimburse you for some of the excess you paid because of the leak. The leak has to be the kind that could not be spotted easily and needed some of the equipment described above, or your application will not be considered.

Your application may also not be considered if it isn’t submitted within the required timeframe and if you have received a hidden leak allowance within a certain period. Make sure to apply using the right documents:

• The plumber’s invoice
• The repair report
• Photographs, if available
• Water bills showing the increased usage
• Leak detection reports

Ask your licensed plumber to clearly state on the invoice how difficult it was to find the leak. If you use our team at Premium Sydney Plumbers, you will never have to worry about detailed documentation for your application.

Every property is entitled to one allowance every five years, and applications must be done within one year of the repair. Apply online or over the phone via 13 20 92 (their accounts line) and if your application is successful, you will get only 50% of the water usage in the worst-affected quarter according to your water bills. Don’t expect anything more.

Understanding Sydney Water's WaterFix Concealed Leaks Program

Sydney Water also runs the WaterFix Concealed Leaks Programme that helps residents in Sydney get access to their certified leak detection specialists.

It is an eligibility-based programme, so make sure to check with them first on whether your property qualifies. Depending on the scope of work and circumstances, Sydney residents can get anything from leak detection services to straight repairs or even referrals.

Frequently Asked Questions About Hidden Leaks

• My Water Meter Moved Only Slightly. Should I Still Be Concerned?

You should be concerned any time your water meter moves when you are not using water. It means water is leaving your plumbing system and causing damage somewhere while increasing your water and energy bills.

• How Often Should I Test My Water Meter?

The best practice is to do this twice a year, but ideally, do the test once you notice the signs (wet patches, damp floors, etc.) and an increase in your bills.

• Are Older Homes More Vulnerable?

In our experience, yes they are, because most of their pipes and plumbing fittings are old and approaching the end of their service life. To prevent emergencies, carry out periodic general plumbing inspections with a special focus on leak detection. Also, install isolation valves to help you turn sections of the plumbing off so that damage does not spread, and get waterwise specialists to audit the plumbing systems and design sustainable setups to help you use water responsibly.

• Will Leak Detection Damage My Home?

No, they will not, because they are designed to be less intrusive. Some access may be required to carry out repairs, but that is after finding the leak and getting a repair estimate after learning of the available repair options.

The Bottom Line

Having shown you why hidden leaks should be higher up your priority list, it is time to take action.

One hour with your water meter will tell you everything you need to know. Some food colouring will help you rule out your toilet cisterns as the culprits, and a call to us at Plumber Sydney will get you the services of our Premium Sydney Plumbers to come detect any leaks and help you deal with them.