Top tips to detect a leaking water supply pipe

Mark Killy, Water Fittings Officer at Fittings Officer Regulations Manager at Leep Networks (Water) Ltd (formerly of Thames Water), shares his top tips on spotting leaks and helping households save water, energy and money off their utility bills.

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Often customers don’t realise that they’re responsible for the underground water supply pipe that runs from the boundary of their property into their home, along with all their internal pipes and water fittings.

By 2050, in England alone, we’ll need an extra 3.5 billion litres of water every day to support our growing population. It’s more important than ever that we all do what we can to make sure our property’s pipes aren’t wasting water.

It’s actually a criminal offence to intentionally or negligently cause water to be wasted through a leaking pipe – so it makes sense to get any leaks sorted as soon as possible, as you may risk a fine.

Sometimes it’s obvious if a pipe is leaking, but some leaks are harder to spot, especially on an underground water supply pipe.

Here are some tell-tale signs that you have a leak:

• Reduced water flow or pressure at your cold kitchen tap

• Waterlogged or damp areas in your garden, even during dry weather

• Noisy pipes

• An unusually high metered bill.

If you think you have a leak on your water supply pipe, try calling your local water company to see if they can help. Your next port of call should be an approved water supply pipe installer (also known as a groundworker) - at Leep Networks (Water) Ltd, we recommend finding one near you via the WaterSafe online database.

Simply select ‘Water supply pipe installers’, ‘Underground pipework’ or ‘Leak detection’ from the ‘Choose service’ box, and enter your postcode.

Water supply pipe installers are only approved to work on the supply pipe from the external stop tap, up to the internal stop tap of a property. So, if you need work on your internal plumbing, you can use the WaterSafe database to find an approved plumber, who is approved for all types of plumbing work.