East Anglian Leak Detection
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Water company letters and supply pipes

Water main and supply pipe leaks, found and repaired

A leaking water main between your meter and your house often shows nothing on the surface. We trace it from above ground, mark one place to dig, and can usually make the repair too.

One marked place to dig

Long and hidden routes traced

Repairs guaranteed for 3 months

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Lines open 8am to 8pm, every day.

Many supply pipe jobs start with a letter. The water company has seen flow through your meter that never stops and believes the leak is yours. It cannot say where. From the boundary or meter onwards, the pipe into the house is usually the owner's to find and fix.

No find, no fee on home water leaks covers one leak on a water main up to 30 m or the hot and cold supply pipes, at least half a litre a minute, where we also carry out the access and repair. It does not cover central heating, shared mains, businesses or leaks that come and go. Full conditions are on our terms page.

A hand turning a brass stop tap on a copper water pipe inside a kitchen cupboard A water meter in a round boundary box in the pavement, seen from above with the lid lifted and a torch shining in

Who owns which stretch, and how we find the leak

A leaking water main on private land is really a water supply pipe leak, usually the owner's to deal with. The water company looks after the main under the road and its own short connection, which ends at the boundary or the meter. Everything after that, crossing your garden, drive or path, is normally yours. It may be lead or iron in older homes, blue plastic in newer ones, or a mix.

Charlie's first question on the phone is how much pipe lies between your meter and the indoor stop tap, and which way it runs. The answers decide the method. On a short run under a lawn, a ground microphone often finds the leak. Long, deep or plastic runs, and anything under block paving, often need tracer gas, a hydrogen and nitrogen mix that escapes at the hole and is detected at the surface.

Typical supply pipe jobs

Block paved drive over an old lead supply

The property

A Victorian villa in a Cambridgeshire market town, its front garden block paved over an old lead supply partly replaced in plastic.

The problem

The water company wrote about constant flow. The owners had checked every toilet and tap, and the paving looked dry.

How we found it

A pressure test on the supply pipe, shut off from the house, showed loss. Listening peaked at one point under the blocks, and the tracer gas detector agreed.

The outcome

Under the lifted blocks, the joint where lead met plastic had failed. We renewed it on the visit, quoted separately, and the owners forwarded our report to the water company.

A bungalow branch off a shared Norfolk drive

The property

The middle bungalow of three along a shared Norfolk drive, each with its own meter at the road and its own branch into the garden.

The problem

The meter never stopped, even at midnight with nothing on. A neighbour had already dug a trial hole on the drive, in the wrong place.

How we found it

The dial crept with the inside stop tap closed. Walking from the road, the ground microphone peaked where the branch turns into the garden; tracer gas agreed.

The outcome

The mark sat on the bungalow's own branch. The repair was quoted separately, and the photographs showed the neighbours exactly where the dig would be.

A split joint by the wall of a Suffolk cottage

The property

A brick holiday cottage in a village near the Suffolk coast, its verge meter about 25 m from the kitchen across the lawn.

The problem

The owner, who lives elsewhere, had a letter about continuous use, and the cleaner reported a cold, damp patch by the kitchen sink.

How we found it

Listening across the lawn gave nothing clear. Moisture readings rose near the outside wall, a pressure test showed loss, and tracer gas surfaced where the pipe turns indoors.

The outcome

The split joint lay just outside the wall: one dig in a flower bed, no kitchen floor lifted. The owner booked the repair between guests.

Signs the supply pipe is leaking

A letter about flow that never stops

The company's data shows flow through the meter never dropping to nothing. Something past the meter is using water, though the letter cannot pinpoint where.

A greener or softer strip of lawn

Escaping water can feed a line of lusher grass, or keep ground soft through dry spells. Either tends to sit over the pipe's route.

Pressure fading at every tap

Kitchen tap and shower both weaker over a few weeks? The supply pipe may be losing water before it reaches the house.

Damp by the inside stop tap

A fault close to where the pipe rises indoors can turn the floor or plaster beside the kitchen stop tap damp and cold.

From the letter to a repaired pipe

1

Length, route and meter questions

Roughly how many metres is the pipe, where is the meter, and which line do you think it takes? An unknown route or a shared pipe changes the approach, so mention either.

2

Found from above ground

First comes the stop tap test, to be sure the water is escaping outdoors. We then follow the pipe by listening or with tracer gas, marking the spot once a second method agrees.

3

The repair, if you want it

Repairs are quoted on their own, separate from the search. Pipework and fittings we install are guaranteed for 3 months, and work on any other weak spots that testing reveals is priced separately.

How a buried supply pipe gives itself away

Acoustic listening

Escaping water hisses under pressure. A ground microphone hears it through soil, tarmac or concrete as we walk the line. Wind and traffic can drown out a faint one.

Tracer gas

Once the pipe has been emptied, a hydrogen and nitrogen mix goes in. It leaves through the fault and rises, and a detector swept over the surface finds it, even on plastic pipe.

Pressure testing

Once the supply pipe is closed off, a gauge tells us whether it holds pressure. A falling needle proves this length is leaking, so the search for the exact point can start.

Who we help with supply pipe leaks

Owners the water company has handed it to

Perhaps you have already dug where you guessed. We find the leak, mark it and can usually repair it, so you have something definite to tell the water company.

Homes at the end of a long track

Farmhouses and barn conversions often have a meter on a verge far from the door. We walk the line listening. Runs over 30 m, or routes nobody knows, fall outside the promise.

Landlords whose tenant forwarded the letter

The letter often reaches the tenant first. Let us know at booking who has the keys and who pays. Payers who will be away may need to pay before the booking is confirmed.

Supply pipe cover and water company allowances

Check your home policy before booking: some include the supply pipe and some leave it out. Each water company sets its own leak policy, and some run an allowance scheme for repaired leaks, so check what proof yours expects. The report, sent once the visit is paid, lists the location, methods, readings and photographs. Whether either pays is their decision.

Where we trace supply pipes

Our water main leak detection services reach terraced streets with a meter in the pavement and farms with one on a distant verge. Each county page below lists its towns.

Leak detection in Cambridgeshire Leak detection in Essex Leak detection in Suffolk Leak detection in Norfolk Leak detection in Hertfordshire Leak detection in Bedfordshire Leak detection in Buckinghamshire Leak detection in Greater London

Other leaks we trace

Water leak detection Central heating leak detection Leaking underfloor heating Shower leak detection Underground water leak detection Gas pipe leak detection Thermal imaging leak detection Acoustic water leak detection Tracer gas leak detection Commercial leak detection Trace and access leak detection Leak detection for landlords Water leak repair

Useful guides

How to avoid frozen pipes, and check for a hidden leak after a freeze How to read a water meter and use it to check for a leak Lead water pipes in UK homes: how to spot one and find a leak Leak on a shared water supply pipe: who pays and how it is found

Common questions

Length sets the method and the time needed. A short run under lawn may be found quickly by listening, while a long or deep one can take a full day. It also matters for the promise: it stops at 30 m of water main, and the pipe’s route must be known.

The letter only reports water passing the meter, not where it goes. A toilet that keeps running can give the same reading as a split pipe. Our stop tap test shows which it is. If neither is leaking, ask your water company to check the meter.

Usually, yes, and doing it while we are there keeps any price quoted in advance valid. We price main water leak repair as its own item, and you decide on the day whether to go ahead or call in your own plumber.

Nothing, while we search. Digging starts over the mark, the most likely place, though the leak is confirmed only when the pipe is uncovered. If you want us to dig down and repair it, that is quoted separately before anything is lifted.

Only when it reaches half a litre a minute. That equals 30 litres an hour, and many water company letters quote a rate in litres an hour, so you can compare. We can still look for a smaller leak at the agreed price, but it falls outside the promise, as do leaks that only show once the ground is opened. Full conditions are on our terms page.

Tell us when you book, especially if the pipe runs under a neighbour’s property. Shared water mains sit outside the promise. The report shows which length the leak is on; who pays is then for you and your neighbour to settle.

Letter from the water company?

Call 07700 102 008 with a meter reading and the rough length of your supply pipe. Visits are usually booked within 24 to 48 hours.

Call 07700 102 008 Get a quote
East Anglian Leak Detection