Leak between meter and internal stop tap

Swipe

I consistently use 20 units per annum and today checked my water meter which says I have used 110 units in the last 6 months. I switched off the mains stop tap under the kitchen sink and the meter carried on spinning. I then switched off the tap at the meter and it stopped so I have a leak somewhere between the meter and house.

I have called Severn Trent Water and have someone coming out on Tuesday. They said there's a remote chance they will repair it free of charge if it's an easy fix but I'm unsure where the pipe runs. I cannot see any visible signs of a leak apart from a damp area on the ground along the side of the house but I'm not even sure the pipe takes that route. How will they know where the pipe runs? Will they have the pipe schema plays when they visit? Or will they have some equipment that will detect the pipes underground?

I know I'm probably going to be responsible for the repair or relaying of pipe (as ST have a strict criteria for free repairs) but is it possible I will be covered by my buildings insurance? If it's a simple dig down through gravelled soft ground at the side of the house and repair the pipe rather than a relay, what sort of cost am I looking at?

Insurance policy is with Churchill and says:


We will pay for loss of, or damage to, the buildings caused by
the following:

Water or oil escaping from any fixed water or heating
installation, including underground drains and pipes, or from
any domestic appliance.

I take it that won't cover the actual repair of the pipe itself?

macman

No you're not covered for this by building insurance-only for any damage resulting from the leak, which is not the issue here.

Gothicfairy

Swipe..You could try asking for a leakage allowance / adjustment form..it might get you nothing but it has to be worth a go.

You can do that through the phone or email and just ask for the forms rather then going through it on the phone as the forms go to the back office and are dealt with in a totally different way. The front office are not trained so there is no point going in to it.

Swipe

Gothicfairy wrote: »

Swipe..You could try asking for a leakage allowance / adjustment form..it might get you nothing but it has to be worth a go.

You can do that through the phone or email and just ask for the forms rather then going through it on the phone as the forms go to the back office and are dealt with in a totally different way. The front office are not trained so there is no point going in to it.

Yep, thanks. I have downloaded the form. I have to fill it in after the pipe has been repaired. I have STWater coming out to detect the leak this morning. So far I've lost 110 cubic metres (about 1 a day)

Gothicfairy

Ouch that is a lot of water as 1 cubic meter is 1000 litres
If the leak is under something like concrete (sp) and you could not possibly have seen it yourself and repair it you "should" get the allowance and it "should" cover the whole amount lost as they would bill based on your normal adc.
I say should because until the leak is found there is no way to know for use but there is a good chance they will help either cover it all or at least work something out with you.

good luck and do let us know how it goes

Swipe

Well, the water man has just been and he couldn't detect where the pipes go, let alone find the leak He said they'll have to make another appointment and try to use a SOND to trace the pipes. He also said it's probably unlikely I'll get a free repair and will have to get my own plumber to fix it In the meantime, I've switched the water off at the meter and will have to use water from the header tank until it is fixed

Gothicfairy

You might still get the free repair as it will be down to someone higher up to make that choice and I have found in the past that the field guys tend to go on the side of "no, not going to happen" because if they say anything else it tends to come back and bite them on the bum when the customer says "so and so told me I could have it done etc"


There is an arguement that if the leak is under concrete or anything like that you couldn't have seen it and as such the water company can go that little bit beyond what they normally would for say a visible leak or an internal leak.

Best bet is to wait and see and if you are not happy with the answer write to the ops (not customer services as it is nothing to do with them) complaints dept and let them look into it.

Swipe

OK thanks very much for the advice so far. I'm bracing myself for the worse case scenario which would be a new pipe re-run around the house which would probably set me back close to £2K. The run is about 50 metres in length the way the crow flies.

notts_phil

Swipe wrote: »

OK thanks very much for the advice so far. I'm bracing myself for the worse case scenario which would be a new pipe re-run around the house which would probably set me back close to £2K. The run is about 50 metres in length the way the crow flies.

No It shouldn't!

You can do the work yourself. MDPE water pipe is cheap enough in big lengths , 25/50 m lengths

If you don't fancy doing the digging and laying a new pipe then advertise on gumtree and get some Pole to do. Hard workers and will do it for min wage

WATERWITCH

Swipe - any joy from the leakage allowance claim yet? I have a similar problem - apparent leak under the house which is a terrace on a medieval part of the town with solid concrete floors and, I think, stone flags below them. We've had a water engineer around and its going to be a massive job as we will need to dig up the floor from the inside of the house. The leaks been going on for about 4 years and the bill is around £500.00 a year - not huge compared to some of this forum but its a holiday cottage, no bath or washing machine, empty most of the time over winter. Off season we just turn the water off at the water meter which is just outside the front door. Welsh Water won't even send anyone out to look and I've been told that I can't make a leakage allowance claim. Up to now I've just been talking to the customer services people on the end of the line and getting fobbed off. Surely if they know most of the water is going into the ground there must be some allowance they can make on the sewerage charge at least?

Swipe

I can't claim the leakage allowance until it has been fixed. I'm still waiting for STwater to come out to detect the pipe (2 weeks now and chased it last week but still no appointment). After talking to one of my neighbours I may have a better idea where the leak may be (in the driveway under some sunken flagstones). My water has been switched off since I discovered the leak I think even if you can't get a leakage allowance you can get a reduction on the drainage charge but it's only a small percentage of the bill