A water bill that climbs with no change in how the house is used means water is leaving the system somewhere you are not looking. Some of those places are trivial. Some are under the slab. The point of this post is to give you an order to check in, so you spend ten minutes on the free tests before anyone starts talking about excavation.
Start at the meter
The meter tells you whether there is a leak at all and roughly how big it is.
- 1Make sure nothing in the house is using water: no washer, no dishwasher, no ice maker filling, irrigation off.
- 2Find the meter, usually in a box near the street. Lift the lid and look for a small triangle, star or dial that spins with low flow.
- 3If that indicator is moving with everything off, water is flowing somewhere.
- 4Now shut the main valve at the house. If the indicator stops, the leak is inside the house or in a fixture. If it keeps moving, the leak is between the meter and the house: the service line or an irrigation tap off it.
That one test cuts the search in half. If you do not know where your main valve is, our post on finding the main shutoff will get you there.
Inside the house: the usual suspects
Toilets
The most common hidden leak in any house, and it is silent. A flapper that does not seal lets water trickle from the tank into the bowl continuously, and the fill valve tops the tank back up. Put a few drops of food colouring in each tank, wait fifteen minutes without flushing, and look in the bowl. Colour in the bowl means a leaking flapper. Our post on running toilets covers the fix.
Water softener or filter
A softener stuck in regeneration or a filter bypass left open can run water to the drain for hours. Listen at the unit and check the drain line.
Water heater
A dripping temperature and pressure relief valve sends water down its discharge pipe, often to a drain where nobody sees it. Check the end of that pipe for moisture.
Faucets, showers and hose bibs
Obvious when they drip, but check the outside spigots too. A hose left connected with a leaking nozzle, or a spigot dripping into mulch, is invisible from inside.
Humidifier, ice maker, fridge line
Small lines that run constantly if a valve fails. Look behind and under the fridge for moisture.
Outside: irrigation and the service line
If the meter keeps moving with the house main shut, the leak is underground between the street and the house.
- Irrigation. The most common outdoor culprit. A stuck zone valve, a cracked lateral, or a broken head runs water into the ground on schedule or continuously. Look for a green stripe in the lawn, a soggy area, or a zone that never seems to shut off. Shut the irrigation backflow valve and retest the meter.
- The service line. Older galvanised or polybutylene service lines fail underground. Signs are a soft spot in the yard on the line between the meter and the house, or a drop in pressure alongside the bill increase. Repair or replacement is a dig, and the choice depends on the pipe material and length.
When the meter is not moving
If the indicator is still and the bill is still high, the water is going through fixtures while you are watching something else. Common causes: a toilet that runs intermittently rather than constantly, a softener regenerating at night, irrigation set to a longer schedule than you remember, or simply a billing period that covered a filled pool or a lot of summer watering. It is also worth calling the utility and asking for the meter readings to check for an estimated bill or a misread.
Questions we get
How much water does a running toilet actually waste?
Enough to be the whole explanation for a bill increase. It is the first thing to test, every time.
Will the utility reduce the bill if it was a leak?
Some utilities offer a one-time adjustment with proof of repair. Keep the invoice and ask.
Can you find a leak without tearing things up?
Usually. Meter isolation, pressure testing and listening equipment narrow it down before anything is opened. It is part of our plumbing service across Coweta and Fayette counties.
Stop paying for water you are not using
Wright Way Services finds and fixes leaks in Newnan, Sharpsburg, Senoia, Peachtree City, Tyrone and Fayetteville. Call (770) 301-4638.
Open 24 hours · Newnan, GA
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