Leak in cold water supply from the meter

[mcbean]

My water company rang to say that our water bill had gone up a great deal in the last six months - seems we have a leak between the meter which is outside on the pavement and the supply that goes in at the kitchen round the back - there is no sign of water - what techniques are there for putting in a new pipe as i guess the old one comes underneath the drive underneath the garage ? and to find the leak would be quite difficult - its about 2o metres from the pavement to the kitchen

thanks

 

[Vic Spanner]

Turn off your internal stopcock and see if dial on the meter outside still rotates.

 

[clf-gas]

Have a look in the boudry box outside where the meter is, they often leak at the connections here, may well be full of water.

 

[BoxBasher]

Have a look in the boudry box outside where the meter is, they often leak at the connections here, may well be full of water.

They also have a tendency to fill up with groundwater so thats no reliable indication of a leak whatsover.

First step is to actually prove there is a leak. As Poxi said turn off your internal stopcock (run your tap to make sure it is really off and not letting by).

Then look at your meter, it will either have a needle/pointer or an extra sensitve final digit. See if the needle/last digit is visbly moving. If nothing noticeable then make a note of the positions of all the digits and the needle and leave it for ten minutes. Go and have another look at it (a watched kettle never boils etc) and see if any of the positions have changed.

If they have moved then there is water going through. If they haven't then repeat the test but with your internal stopcock open, you may be usuing water internally (eg overflow).

 

[clf-gas]

Sorry boxbasher, that reply was'nt meant to go, rushing out too emergency call, (finicky mouse pad). Would have read, clear water out to view meter and perform checks simular to your post.

 

[BoxBasher]

Sorry boxbasher, that reply was'nt meant to go, rushing out too emergency call, (finicky mouse pad). Would have read, clear water out to view meter and perform checks simular to your post.

No worries, you don't have to apologise to me. If I apologised for every incorrect post I made my post count would be more like Breezer.
Its just that I spend a lot of time inspecting "leaks" on meters or stop taps, just because the chamber has water in it (even if it's been raining for days). It frustrates me even more when it has been reported by a meter reader (who probably can't be bothered pumping out and has used it as an excuse not to read).

I turn up at the door and the customer (usually a woman, but not exclusively) says "I went to look at it and its full of water"... I feel like replying "Its been raining for 3 weeks solid, of course it's full of water".

 

[clf-gas]

Spent some time fitting them, prop and boundry, and going round finding meters, clearing out, know what you

 

[mcbean]

Ok have done this , no water in the meter hole and its still moves slowly with the stopcock off in the house - no sign of water anywhere no cracks or seepage so i guess there is a leak and a new pipe will be needed as i suppose it will be difficult to find the hole. cheers

 

[BoxBasher]

Who is your water company?

 

[BoxBasher]

Spent some time fitting them, prop and boundry,

Is that why so many leak???

 

[mcbean]

Severn Trent who dont seem to be bothered - we did have a leak before but you could see the water - it was repaired by a plumber after i had done the digging. This seems to be different - i would advise anybody getting a meter installed to get it near or in the garage as in our last house - by putting it in the road they have washed their hands of our problems - the pipes are black alkathene but the pressures here go up and down like a yo yo with millions of gallons lost on the main road which took them 2 years to fix - incidently they have it up again now !!

 

[BoxBasher]

by putting it in the road they have washed their hands of our problems - the pipes are black alkathene

1) The pipe from the road boundary to the house is your responsbility regardless of where the meter is located, its just that you notice hidden leaks when on a meter.
2) Black alkethene pipe has a pretty small internal bore and therefore not a great flow potential, take the opportunity to get it replaced with blue 25mm MDPE pipe - this will increase maximum flows, and by replacing the pipe you will eliminate the leak.
3) If your pressure is up and down, the leak will certainly be contributing to the problem. If it's still poor after you have the leak repaired then get them to investigate it. I am unsure what the guaranteed standards are for ST Water but Ofwat expect them to deliver 10 litres/minute at 1 bar, although this level of service is to be delivered at the boundary, not inside the property

 

[mcbean]

Started digging a cross trench in my front garden to locate pipe, to start the process of putting a new one in - how deep would this be - have dug to 2 and half already and no sign ?

 

[BoxBasher]

Pipe should be a minimum of 750mm (30") but can be deeper.

 

[namsag]

Why not take out insurance and claim in a few months time.