Is it a faulty water meter or is it a leak?

M22saver

Hi all

I thought I'd post my little dilemma up and see if anybody has experienced anything similar.

I live in a ground floor flat in a block of 12 apartments. All have separate water meters located on the pavement outside. I have lived here for a year and have been happily paying a set monthly amount that the water board have charged me.

A couple of weeks ago a lady from the water board phoned me up to arrange a time when I would be in my flat so she can run some tests. It had come to light that the water meters for my apartment block had all been jumbled up and she needed to find out which meter belongs to which flat. She subsequently found out which was my meter but ... when all my water was turned off ... she said that the meter was 'still spinning round like mad' and gave me a leak line number to call.

A chap from the leak line is due this week but I thought I would see if anyone has experienced anything similar. The chap will first test for a leak then will address any 'faulty meter' issues if a leak cannot be found.

I know that normally each individial property owner is responsible for the supply pipe that connects their property to the main pipe but does this apply for flats when all the pipes that are considered 'mine' end at my front door (i.e. I dont have my own driveway etc).

Thanks

msmicawber

Hello,

I've just had something similar happen and it turned out to be a faulty meter. My direct debit was increased to pay for the increased usage until the water company had investigated the cause. The meter was replaced, I've supplied fresh readings and the money's being returned to me.

However, if the meter's spinning because you have a leak, then the water company will advise you whether you're responsible or they are. If you, then they'll offer to repair it for you at your expense, or you can get your own building contractor to do it. They explained this to me at the time, and pointed me to their web site where there were diagrams to show who's responsible for what part of the pipes. Have a look at your water company's web site as it may well have similar diagrams for properties split into flats. If it's between the main pipe and your spur, and the water company tell you it's not their responsibility, then I would think it is the responsibility of the free holder of the block of flats.

ram1

I have a water meter,the last 2 quarter bills were higher than normal.I called them Yorkshire Water,they asked to takle a reading last thing at night and again first theing in the morning,the mater had spun and lost about a 100 litres.
then thay sked me to shut the maons inside the house,and leave for 5/6 hours,meter did not spin.
they told me the I have a leak inside,I have checked no leak,no damp patches in walls floor or cealings,no water is being seen to be being lost in drains.The drainnage co came to checked all,no leaks inside house.
They said could be a faluty meter.
I have called yorksire water back just now to tell of this,what woudl anyone suggest?

bigblackdog

i worked for essex and suffolk water for 3 years , repairing leaks like this , they had a policy of not charging for leaks if outside the house , even if the leak was beyond the meter usually located in the public highway which technically was the end of there responsibility for pipework , depending on the age of your property some easy assumtions can be made , i would say of the hundreds of leaks i repaired when the pipes were made of plastic the leak was usually a simple replacement of a connector on the back of the meter box , although the ground had to be excavated to enable this , when repaired a reading of the meter was taken and then another reading approx 2 weeks later , an average was then used to estimate amount of water over paid for and a refund was given on the bill ,
people are employed by the water companies to go round the streets at night when it is quiet and usually no one is running taps to listen for leaks , these people listen to your meter with listening sticks to see if there is a noise as a leak can easily be heard , if the noise stops when your meter is turned off the leak must be beyond the meter , then the stop !!!! in your flat will be turned off , if the noise stops it is beyond your stopcock and you will need to check all your taps are turned right off and try again to see if the noise is back /meter is turning , a dripping tap will register on your water meter surprisingly , anyway these tests will be carried out when you are at home as access is required , the meter will be changed to check accuracy and to rule out a faulty meter , the pipe from your meter into your flat will be exclusively yours , there will be 12 small bore pipes running one to each flat from each of the 12 meters , hope this helps ,

bigblackdog

ram1 wrote: »

I have a water meter,the last 2 quarter bills were higher than normal.I called them Yorkshire Water,they asked to takle a reading last thing at night and again first theing in the morning,the mater had spun and lost about a 100 litres.
then thay sked me to shut the maons inside the house,and leave for 5/6 hours,meter did not spin.
they told me the I have a leak inside,I have checked no leak,no damp patches in walls floor or cealings,no water is being seen to be being lost in drains.The drainnage co came to checked all,no leaks inside house.
They said could be a faluty meter.
I have called yorksire water back just now to tell of this,what woudl anyone suggest?

check it out yourself , make sure all taps are turned off , turn off your internal stopcock which is the tap shaped handle on your water pipe nearest where the pipe enters your property , then go outside and look at the meter( under a black lid in the pavement ) if it is not 'moving' you must have a leak beyond the internal stopcock ,therfore turn the stopcock on again and check the meter to see if anything is registering . if you have one of the more 'modern' meters there will be a small black disc in the centre behind the glass that turns when water is flowing , even a dripping tap will make this disc spin albeit very slowly , you can thereby satisfy yourself as to wether you have a leak somewhere in your house , perhaps a toilet sistern or the water tank in your loft ?

ram1

bigblackdog wrote: »

check it out yourself , make sure all taps are turned off , turn off your internal stopcock which is the tap shaped handle on your water pipe nearest where the pipe enters your property , then go outside and look at the meter( under a black lid in the pavement ) if it is not 'moving' you must have a leak beyond the internal stopcock ,therfore turn the stopcock on again and check the meter to see if anything is registering . if you have one of the more 'modern' meters there will be a small black disc in the centre behind the glass that turns when water is flowing , even a dripping tap will make this disc spin albeit very slowly , you can thereby satisfy yourself as to wether you have a leak somewhere in your house , perhaps a toilet sistern or the water tank in your loft ?

Believe me I have done this and a draiage co has been today,even they have said this cannot be a leak inside,have checked all loos,washer and all isolaters etc,no evidence of a leak inside.I am at loss

Wookey

Are you on a shared supply? Have you noticed any discoloration in your hot water? Are all overflows easily checked and staying dry, ensure you don't have one terminating on a roof somewhere and running down and away thru a gutter/downspout. Does your WC have an internal overflow, these are barely visible when they are overflowing and you need to check inside the WC bowl for ANY trace of running water. Do you have and outside tap anywhere? Are your ground floors concrete or suspended wooden floors? If wood you could have a small leak which will go undetected for a very long time, if cement/concrete there maybe a damp patch show itself if pipes haven't been covered over with a dampcourse.

ram1

Wookey wrote: »

Are you on a shared supply? Have you noticed any discoloration in your hot water? Are all overflows easily checked and staying dry, ensure you don't have one terminating on a roof somewhere and running down and away thru a gutter/downspout. Does your WC have an internal overflow, these are barely visible when they are overflowing and you need to check inside the WC bowl for ANY trace of running water. Do you have and outside tap anywhere? Are your ground floors concrete or suspended wooden floors? If wood you could have a small leak which will go undetected for a very long time, if cement/concrete there maybe a damp patch show itself if pipes haven't been covered over with a dampcourse.

Hi,concrete floors,no overflows spewing out,no damp patches anywhere,just a bloomon puzzle/

lapat

hi
firstly whos your water supplier.?
i know you have said that you have checked inside everywhere but put some dye(blu loo blocks are good) in your toilet cistern as the newer types have internal overflows and you are hard pushed to see them leaking. the dye will help. if thats not the issue do you have an internal stop tap when it first enters the property if so take a reading and then turn the internal tap of and read the meter an hour later this will determine 100% that its external.
now you need to call your provider and get them to recheck properley as they should if competent carry out the above apart from the dye test. then they should be able to give you your options if there is a leak i.e they will offer a free repair or you will need to get a plumber to find and repair the leak. also if there is a leak you can apply for a portion of the bill to be refunded for the lost water providing oyu have showed due diligence in trying to find the leak. of which what you have mentioned above you will have