The one-hour test
Turn off every tap and water-using appliance, including the dishwasher, the washing machine and any garden drip system. Leave the meter tap on. Write down the meter reading, use no water for an hour, then read it again. If it has moved, water is escaping.
Found a change? Call R&G on 0461 330 531. $0 call-out fee.
A water meter spinning with every tap in the house shut off means water is leaving your pipes somewhere, and roughly four times out of five it is not underground.
The cheap causes are far more common than the expensive ones. Work through them in order before anyone starts talking about excavation.
Do the Test Properly First
Sydney Water publishes the method,d and it is worth doing exactly as written, because a shortcut version produces a false positive and a plumber’s visit you did not need.
Turn off all taps and appliances that use water, including drip systems, dishwashers and washing machines. Find your meter, usually at the front boundary, and leave the meter tap turned on. Note the numbers on the dial. Then use no water at all for at least an hour, and read it again. If the numbers have changed, you leak, and the bigger the change, the bigger the leak.
An hour is the part people skip. A toilet that refills in slow pulses will not show up in five minutes and will show clearly in sixty.
If your meter has a small separate dial or star that turns on very low flow, that is a faster version of the same check, because it moves on a trickle that the main numbers take an hour to register. Not every meter has one, so the hour test is the reliable version.
Where the Leak Probably Is
In rough order of how often it turns out to be each one.
| Where | How to check it |
|---|---|
| Toilet cistern | Food dye in the cistern. If colour reaches the bowl without a flush, the outlet valve is passing. |
| Garden irrigation or drip system | Isolate it at its own tap and redo the hour test |
| Hot water relief valve | Look at the drain line from the unit. A steady trickle is water you are paying for |
| A weeping flexi hose under a sink or vanity | Torch and a dry hand along the braiding, and check the cabinet floor |
| Outside taps and hose fittings | Check behind the handle and at the wall, not just the spout |
| The buried service pipe between meter and house | The expensive one, and the last one to assume |
The toilet is first on that list for a reason. A cistern valve that passes quietly can waste more water than everything else in the house combined, and because it drains straight down, there is nothing to see and nothing to hear.
If the hour test still shows movement once every fixture above is ruled out, the leak is in the pipework itself, and that is where leak detection earns its money. Acoustic and pressure testing find it without digging the whole run, which is the difference between repairing a metre of pipe and replacing a driveway.
Whose Pipe Is It
This is where most of the money gets decided, and Sydney Water is clear about it.
Sydney Water owns and maintains the water main under the street and the water meter at your property. Everything after the meter- the pipe running from it into your house and all the plumbing inside- belongs to the property owner.
There is one useful exception. Sydney Water says that, as a courtesy,y it may repair the section of pipe between its main and your meter for free, but only where that pipe is less than one metre inside your property boundary. A metre past that, nd it is yours.
The meter tap itself is the other exception, and it goes the customer’s way. It counts as private pipework, but Sydney Water will repair a leaking meter tap at no charge under certain conditions, within 10 working days and usually sooner, on 13 20 90. There is a paid express service if you need it the same day, but try the free one first.
For a meter test or a high usage enquiry, the number is 13 20 92, weekdays 8 am to5:30 pmm. For anything urgent, or water running in the street, 13 20 90 is answered 24 hours.
The Bill Allowance Most People Never Claim
If the leak turns out to be a hidden one, you may be able to get part of the water you lost credited back.
Sydney Water runs a hidden leak allowance. For a residential proper,ty the credit is half the water usage charge for the quarter the leak hit hardest, and each property can claim one allowance every five years. The repair can be done by your own licensed plumber, so using us does not affect your eligibility.
Check the eligibility rules on that page before you assume you qualify, because not every leak counts and the conditions are theirs rather than ours.
What matters practically is the paperwork. Keep the invoice, make sure it names the leak and the repair rather than just saying “plumbing work”, and keep the date. We will write it up that way if you tell us you are claiming.
When It Is Urgent, and When It Is Not
A spinning meter on its own rarely is an emergency. It is money draining away rather than damage happening, and it can wait for a normal appointment.
It changes if you also have wet ground that will not dry out, a patch of unusually green lawn in a dry week, water seeping from under a slab or path, a damp or discoloured wall, or a drop in pressure at the taps. Those mean water is going somewhere it can do structural damage rather than simply running away, and a buried burst water pipe under a slab is a far bigger job after a fortnight than it is on the first day.
If any of that is happening, turn the water off at the mains between uses until someone has looked at it. It stops the loss, and it stops the damage, and you can turn it back on when you need water.
The slow version is the one that catches people out. A leak small enough to go unnoticed for a year does its damage to cabinetry, flooring and subfloor timber long before anyone sees water, which is the same pattern as the hidden damage minor plumbing leaks cause.
Did the hour test, and it moved.d
Tell us the two readings and how far apart you took them. It tells us roughly how much watgoingis goi,n g and that decides whether we are looking for a dripping valve or a broken pipe. Call R&G on 0461 330 531. $0 call-out fee, 24 hours.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I check for a water leak with my meter?
Turn off every tap and water-using appliance, including the dishwasher, washing machine and any garden drip system, but leave the meter tap on. Write down the meter reading, use no water for at least an hour, then read it again. If the numbers have moved, water is escaping. The bigger the movement, the bigger the leak.
Who pays for a leaking water pipe in Sydney, me or Sydney Water?
Sydney Water owns the main under the street and the meter at your property. The pipe from the meter into your house and everything inside it is the owner’s responsibility. Sydney Water may repair the section between its main and your meter free as a courtesy, but only where that pipe sits less than one metre inside your boundary.
Can I get money back on a high water bill caused by a leak?
Possibly. Sydney Water runs a hidden leak allowance, and for a residential property the credit is half the water usage charge for the quarter worst affected, with one allowance available per property every five years. Your own licensed plumber can repair it. Check the eligibility rules on Sydney Water’s page, and keep an invoice that names the leak and the repair.
My meter is spinning, but I cannot find any water. Where is it going?
Most often into a drain where you cannot see it. A toilet cistern valve that passes quietly sends water straight down the pan, and a hot water relief valve trickles into its own drain line. Both waste a lot and neither leaves a mark. Rule those two out before assuming the pipework is broken.
Is a spinning water meter an emergency?
Not usually. On its own, it is wasted water rather than damage, and it can wait for a normal appointment. It becomes urgent if you also have ground that stays wet, water seeping from under a slab or path, a damp wall or a pressure drop, because then the water is doing damage as well as costing money.
Water going somewhere you cannot see
We locate leaks without digging up the whole run, using acoustic and pressure testing, across the Upper North Shore, the Hills District and the Parramatta and Ryde corridor. Fixed price before anything starts, no call-out fee, and an invoice written so you can claim a bill allowance if you qualify. See leak detection or emergency plumbing if water is coming up through the ground.
