Water Leak Detection Wollongong

Signs of a hidden water leak

Sydney Water, which supplies the Illawarra, points to a few early warnings: a water bill that has gone up even though your use hasn't changed, wet patches on the lawn, damp walls, and green patches of grass that look different from the grass around them. Our guide to the signs of an underground water leak goes into more detail.

A few other clues are worth noting too, especially if more than one shows up at once.

• Running water you can hear even with all taps and appliances off.
• Water pressure that has dropped for no obvious reason.
• A musty smell, mould, bubbling paint or lifting floor coverings.
• A warm spot on a tiled floor, which can point to a leaking hot water pipe beneath it.
• A toilet cistern that refills between flushes when nobody has used it.

The water meter test

If you have your own water meter, this is Sydney Water's simple method for finding out whether water is escaping somewhere on the property. You'll normally find it toward the front of the property.

• Turn off every tap and every appliance that uses water, including dishwashers, washing machines and drip irrigation.
• Leave the meter tap itself turned on.
• Write down the numbers on the meter dial.
• Don't use any water for at least the next hour.
• Check the last numbers on the dial again. If they've changed, you have a leak, and the bigger the change, the bigger the leak is likely to be.

Two quick checks for toilets and hot water

Put a small piece of dry toilet paper at the back of the toilet bowl; it should stay dry until the next flush, because a cistern shouldn't release water between flushes. Then check the expansion valve near the top of your hot water system after a period with no hot water use. It shouldn't be leaking constantly.

If the meter doesn't move but your usage still can't be explained, Sydney Water can test the meter itself on application.

How hidden leaks are located

Finding a concealed leak is a process of elimination. The first step is usually to isolate parts of the system, such as the line to a garden tap, the hot water side or a single bathroom, and watch whether the meter keeps moving. That narrows the search from the whole property to one section.

From there, leak detection can involve pipe locating equipment to trace where a line runs, acoustic listening devices that pick up the sound of escaping water, and in some cases filling the pipe with a safe gas. The right method depends on where the pipe runs and what it's made of, so the approach for your property should be explained to you before any work starts.

What happens once the leak is found

Once the leak is pinpointed, the repair is explained and quoted before work begins, whether it means replacing a fitting, a short length of pipe or a longer run. Any opening up of walls, floors or ground is agreed with you first. If the leak turns out to be a burst section, see burst pipe repair.

It also helps to know who is responsible for which pipe. The property owner is responsible for the pipes and fittings on the property that connect to Sydney Water's network. Sydney Water owns and maintains the water meter, and it often repairs the service between its main and the meter, up to one metre inside the property boundary.

Legally, homeowners can only do minor plumbing work such as changing a tap washer, so a leak in the pipes on your property needs a licensed plumber.