Find a Leak Video
Watch the "Find a Leak" video. 16 min.

Locate your water meter
About 90 percent of all area residential water meters are located in the front sidewalk. The first step is to check your water meter for movement. Look at the top of the meter. You'll notice a triangle called a flow indicator. It'll move whenever water is passing through it.

If all the water is off in your home and the triangle is moving, then you have a leak.

If the small red triangle on your meter is moving after you shut off all water in your home, you may have a leak.

Check your toilets
Shut off one toilet at a time by turning the knob at the wall. After you shut off a toilet, go out to the water meter and check your flow indicator. If the small, red flow-indicator triangle has stopped moving, you've found the water waster. If it is still moving, that toilet is not the problem. Something else is causing a leak. Check all the toilets.

Check your sprinkler system
Shut off the anti-siphon valve that serves your sprinkler system. Check the red flow-indicator triangle at the water meter. If the flow indicator stopped moving, the sprinkler system is the problem. It it's still moving, something else is causing the leak.

Check your water softener
Most softeners have a bypass lever. Turn the lever to allow water to bypass the softener. Check the red flow-indicator triangle at the meter. If the triangle is no longer moving, you have isolated the leak to your softener. (You also can check for leaking swamp coolers, water-cooled air conditioners, ice machines and reverse osmosis units by turning the bypass lever on each and checking the meter.)

Check your pool
First turn off the automatic fill valve and place a bucket on a step where the bucket rim is at least a few inches above the water line. Then place a heavy weight in the bucket and add water until the water level inside the bucket is equal with the water level in the pool. Leave the bucket and pool undisturbed for several hot days, then compare the water level in the bucket to the water level in the pool. If the water level in the bucket is noticeably higher than the water level in the pool, you may be losing water to a leak. If this is the case, contact a pool leak detection specialist for further assistance.

Check your main service line
First, you need to find your water shutoff valve. This is usually in your front yard near the sewer riser cap, in your garage or near your water softener unit. Shut off the valve, cutting off all water to your home, and go in the house and turn on a faucet to make sure the water is off. Check the red flow-indicator triangle at the meter. If the red triangle is moving, the leak is between the shutoff valve and the water meter.

Now what?
First, close the water meter cap to prevent damage to the lens and replace the meter box lid. If you are not able to find the leak, you should call a professional plumber to locate and fix the leak(s). If you find a simple leak like your toilet flapper or kitchen faucet, you may want to fix the problem yourself.

For more information, call the Conservation Helpline at 258-SAVE.