How to Locate an Underground Water Leak

There are several pipes that run underground for your home, business or commercial property.  These pipes provide tap water and remove waste via your sewer pipes.  This pipping system is essential to having a happy, healthy and fully functional home life.  They can operate correctly for years without any sort of maintenance or care.  With that being said, they can crack, break or get pin-hole sizes openings through the walls of the pipes.  There are many reasons these issues can arise.  Perhaps there was a minor earthquake or ground settling.  Maybe there was an unexpected deep freeze before you could properly drain your pipes.  Most likely of all however is that these pipes have aged and have simply been damaged due to erosion and time.

It is important to remember that these pipes, whether your water main line or sewer mainline, are located below dirt, asphalt, and concrete.  Most of the time you will need a professional leak detection and repair company to find and fix the source of the water or sewage leak.  With that being said, you can get a general idea of where you suspect the leak is coming from.  More importantly, you can learn how to keep a sharp eye out for the signs that your home or business is experiencing an underground leak.

Look for the signs of a water leak

If the leak is large enough or has gone on long enough it can actually move soil away from the foundation of your property.  This can lead to safety concerns and troublesome damage to the actual foundation of your property.  So if you are noticing spaces of dips in the soil around your home call an expert leak repair company as soon as possible.  You may also notice signs around the rest of your property outside.  In general outdoor leaks are harder to notice than indoor leaks.  This is primarily due to the fact that most people spend a significantly longer amount of time inside than they do outside.

Inspect your lawn and see if there are areas that look squishy or spongy like they have been saturated with water.  Your utility bills can also be a great warning sign for you to look at.  If there is a sudden and unexplainable spike in water usage, there is almost certainly a water leak happening.  Your water meter is a great tool to confirm that an underground leak is happening.  Begin by turning off all of your water fixtures.  While you are doing this look for any sign of damage, including cracks, rust, or excess water that has dripped.  Then go inspect your meter.  If the dials are spinning even though you are not using any water, there is definitely a leak going on.

Call a professional right away

Any water, air, sewer or gas leak should be taken as a serious plumbing issue.  Once you have noticed the warning signs you can shut off your water or gas and contact expert leak locate companies in your area.  If you live in or around Salt Lake City, UT we invite you to call Utah Leak Locate at (801) 613-0969 to speak with a detection expert and schedule an appointment right away.