Do You Have a Water Leak? Well, I Did!

May 15, 2025

Large Water Bill? 

My water meter’s leak indicator showed a constant loss of 0.15 gallons per minute, which adds up to a surprising 216 gallons a day!

Imagine my surprise when I opened my water bill to discover that my household water use went from 3,000 gallons to 7,000 gallons! To put this in perspective, an in-ground small swimming pool holds approximately 10,000 gallons of water.

The first step I did to determine if I had a leak was to make sure nothing inside and outside of the house was using water. Then, I walked to the sidewalk and lifted the lid to my city water meter. When you do this, be sure to use a long screwdriver to avoid getting personal with critters living in the meter box.

Most water meters have a leak indicator that will appear after sunlight hits the solar-powered display. Sure enough, a dripping faucet image appeared showing a 0.15 gallon per minute leak. That may not sound like much, but add it up, day after day and it measures a whopping 6,480 gallons in a month!

Next, I isolated the leak to see if it was inside or outside by turning off the house shut-off valve by the hose spigot. This turns off the water inside the house. I walked back to the meter, and it was still indicating a leak, which meant it was an outdoor leak.

A thought came to mind about how my Golden Retriever, Hope, had been digging up sprinkler heads in the backyard. I thought the irrigation system was turned off, but water was coming out of the sprinkler heads and someone enjoyed digging holes. We capped one head and then Hope would find another one!

The leak was providing an impromptu playground of fun for my dog, Hope.

A constant drip at the hose bib and leaks in the irrigation caused the high-water bill. Note, how lush the grass was growing, pointed out by Hope, ‘the water waste detective’ … even if she did cause some of the leaks.
The old irrigation vacuum breaker and shut-off valve had failed allowing water to flow into the irrigation line. A new spigot and shut-off valve was installed and a new pressure vacuum breaker was placed at a new location.

When to Hire a Professional

I knew I needed a professional to help, so I called a plumber. It turns out that the shut-off valve for the irrigation system had failed. The leak was providing an impromptu playground of fun for my dog, Hope. When the plumber and I were in the backyard, we discovered a second leak which was the hose spigot. The plumber removed the irrigation system pipe and replaced the front yard and backyard spigots. We walked back to the water meter and the leak indicator was no longer on the display. Woohoo! No more leak! The next month, our water bill had decreased and the following month, we were back to our normal water use.

There is my leak story. Hopefully, it provided you with insight on how you can check for leaks. Now, I would like to share water conservation tips to help you start saving water in your home.

My Favorite Water-Saving Tips

Use food coloring in the back of the tank to determine if your flapper is leaking.

Assess your toilets for leaks. Remove the toilet tank lid. Place a few drops of food coloring in the toilet tank. Make sure no one uses the toilet for 15 minutes. Check back to see if there is any food coloring in the toilet bowl. If you see the dye in the toilet bowl that means you have a leak. Replace the flapper and/or the internal components inside the tank. If you use chlorine tablets, you should check your toilets more often. Toilets older than 1992, should be replaced with a WaterSense® labeled model. Be sure to check with your municipality to see if they offer a rebate.

Replace your showerhead. If your showerhead fills a one-gallon bucket in less than 20 seconds, replace it with a WaterSense® labeled model.

Check your irrigation system for leaks. Walk around your property to look for leaks. Check the backflow prevention device, irrigation valves and wet spots, as these may indicate an underground leak. Run the irrigation system and walk around again to look for leaks while your system is on including missing or broken drip emitters and sprinklers.

Looking for more ways to save? Explore 100+ indoor and outdoor on our website.

Remember… if we all do a little, we will save a lot!

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Leeann Yacuel is a Senior Water Planning Analyst at Salt River Project (SRP), one of twenty-one Water – Use It Wisely partners to offer water-saving advice and programs.

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