The homeowners had been told by their Water Utility Company that an awful lot of water was flowing through the roadside stopcock to their property and that this was most likely caused by a water leak.
There was no water meter either at the stopcock or anywhere else in the system so the homeowners had been unaware that there was a problem. They turned off the house internal stopcock but the water continued to flow.
They had a leak from the mains water supply pipe buried in the ground outside and asked Trace and Access Experts to come and find it.
Sometimes the best way to track down a leak is to listen for the noise that water makes when it escapes from a small hole in a pipe and if the leak is from a pipe buried in the ground outside, it is often the only practical method.
We used a sensitive microphone and amplifier to search for the leak ( known as Acoustic Leak Detection).
Our engineers knew that the buried pipe would run more or less in a straight line between the roadside stopcock and the internal stopcock so they listened for leak noise in the area and methodically built up a grid of listening points and noise intensities.
Eventually, they determined that the loudest noise was coming from under the paving slabs near the back door.
A slab was removed and a hole made in the bedding sand; the leak noise got much louder and water could be seen.
The roadside stopcock was old and could not be fully turned off so water continued to flow.
The leak had been found.
The Water Utility Company was contacted so they come out and replace the roadside stopcock and turn off the water so the leak could be repaired.
Trace and Access Experts again demonstrated that with the right knowledge and the right skills, property leaks can be quickly resolved. Which in the long term protects the property from water damage. If you would like to know more or think you have a hidden water leak, please give us a call or drop-us an e-mail.
