What can I do if I suspect there is a leak on my private water supply?

Responsibility for repairing a leak depends on where it is. The supply pipe from your house to the boundary of your property, where the outside stop valve and meter are normally located, is your responsibility. Water companies are responsible only for the water main and the communication pipe linking the main to your supply pipe.

If your meter dial is spinning when all water-using appliances are turned off, you may have a leak. If you turn off your inside stop valve and the meter dial is still spinning, there may be a leak on your outside supply pipe.

If your meter is outside, only check it if it is safe to do so.
DO NOT ATTEMPT TO LIFT A HEAVY METAL COVER.
Lift the inspection cover using a screwdriver blade. Remove the polystyrene protector, if there is one, to reveal the meter face. The meter could be a few feet below ground level.

Meters record water usage in cubic meters (m3). Black on white or white on black dials usually indicate cubic metres, tens of cubic metres, hundreds of cubic metres, etc. Red on white on red dials represent decimal places (tenths of cubic metres, hundredths of cubic metres, etc).

Check for movement on the white on red (or red on white) dials. If you have closed your inside stop valve, movement on the meter may indicate a supply pipe leak. If there is no movement, open the inside stop valve and return to the meter. If it moves, it may indicate a leak inside your property.

If there is a leak inside your property you must get it repaired at your or the homeowner’s own expense. If you are a domestic customer and there is a leak on the supply pipe, contact your water company to find out if it offers one-off assistance in locating and repairing your leak. The conditions of the repair vary from company to company, so check their policy with them. Depending on the condition of the pipe, you may want to ask the company about getting it replaced to prevent further leaks.

When the leak has been repaired, your company should offer a leakage allowance for the lost water. As this is a one-off allowance, you may wish to consider the actual cost of the leaked water. You may also want to check with your insurer whether your contents insurance covers the cost of lost metered water. If you are in a new house, check whether you have a warranty with NHBC or another scheme.

Even if you are not given an allowance for water supply charges (or you are a commercial customer), ask your sewerage company for an allowance for the amount of water lost through leakage that did not return to the sewer (in many cases it simply drains away into the ground).

Companies do not generally offer leak repair assistance to commercial customers, but if leaked water does not run into the sewer your company may consider a non return to sewer allowance.