Water Meter or Mains Leak: What to Do Right Now
Whose side is the leak on, and how to check with your meter.
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THE SHORT ANSWER
In short
Sydney Water owns the water meter and the main. A leak at the meter, the meter tap or on the street side is Sydney Water’s to report on 13 20 90, and it repairs the pipe up to one metre inside your boundary for free. Pipes between the meter and your home are yours: call us. To check for a hidden leak, use no water for an hour with the meter tap on and see whether the numbers move.
DO THIS FIRST
Do this first
1
Find where it is
At the meter, the meter tap or the street side: call Sydney Water on 13 20 90. Between the meter and your home: call us.
2
Turn the water off
At the meter tap, if the leak is on your side and it is safe.
3
Do the meter test
Everything off, meter tap on, note the numbers, no water for an hour, check again. Moving numbers mean a leak.
4
Record it
Photos of the leak and the meter reading.
5
Call us
For leaks on your side: 0420 102 394.
SOURCES
Where this advice comes from
WHAT IS HAPPENING
Whose pipe is leaking decides who fixes it
Your water comes from Sydney Water’s main in the street, through a short pipe to the meter and meter tap, usually just inside your front boundary. From the meter onward, the pipes to and through your home are yours. Where a leak sits on that path decides who fixes it and who pays.
Leaks at the meter itself, at the meter tap or on the street side are reported to Sydney Water on 13 20 90. Sydney Water repairs the pipe between its system and the meter, up to one metre inside your boundary, for free, and fixes a leaking meter tap for free within 10 working days, or within 3 hours for $99 with WaterFix Express Meter Taps (Sydney Water).
Leaks after the meter are usually hidden: a pipe under the lawn, the driveway or the slab. The first sign is often the bill, a strip of grass greener than the rest, or a meter that keeps turning with everything off. That is where the meter test and our leak detection come in.
IS IT URGENT?
How serious is it?
| What you can see | How urgent | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Water gushing from the meter, the meter tap or the footpath | Sydney Water: call now | 13 20 90, 24/7 |
| Water gushing on your side of the meter | Emergency: call us now | Turn the meter tap off, then call us |
| The meter tap is seized, or snaps when you turn it | Emergency | Don’t force it: Sydney Water on 13 20 90, or us if water is pouring on your side |
| A wet strip or green patch in the lawn between the meter and the house | Urgent: this week | Do the meter test, then book leak detection |
| A water bill much higher than usual | Not an emergency | Meter test, then leak detection; ask about the hidden leak allowance |
| No water at all | Check first | Is the meter tap open? Is there an outage in your street? Then call us |
DO NOT
Don’t make it worse
- Don’t dig near the meter or the street main
- Don’t try to repair the meter or meter tap yourself
- Don’t ignore a meter that keeps moving: hidden leaks get expensive
- Don’t turn a stiff meter tap with pliers or a pipe wrench: old taps can snap off
- Don’t pave, plant or pile soil over the meter; Sydney Water asks you to keep the area around it clear (Sydney Water)
WHY IT HAPPENED
Where these leaks usually are
On the 196 leak detection jobs we have completed since 2019, the causes our plumbers recorded most often were: water leak (19 jobs), burst water pipe (5 jobs), worn tap washer or cartridge (3 jobs), corroded or perished pipework (2 jobs), roof or gutter water entry (2 jobs).
| Likely cause | Tell-tale signs | The usual fix |
|---|---|---|
| Leaking meter or meter tap | Water around the meter box, a dripping tap spindle | Sydney Water: free within 10 working days, or $99 express |
| Cracked or perished service pipe | A wet strip from the meter toward the house, low pressure | Locate with acoustic listening; repair or replace the line |
| Leaking joint under a driveway or slab | The meter moves but there is no visible water | Pressure test to confirm, then repair through a small opening |
| A running toilet cistern | Water trickling into the bowl; a wet toilet paper test | Replace the inlet or outlet valve |
| Irrigation or a garden tap | Wet garden beds, a tap that drips with the hose off | Repair the tap or the irrigation line |
YOUR WATER BILL
Sydney Water’s hidden leak allowance
If a hidden leak pushed up your bill, Sydney Water may give a goodwill credit (Sydney Water: hidden leak allowance). The main rules:
- A licensed plumber or qualified technician must find and repair the leak, and confirm you couldn’t see or hear it
- The credit is 50 percent of the water usage charge for the most affected quarter
- You apply within a year of the repair, and there is one allowance per property every 5 years
- You need the date it was fixed, the meter serial number and reading date, a photo of the meter after the repair, and the plumber’s business name, ABN, phone number, licence number and invoice
- Visible leaks are not covered: taps, toilet cisterns, dishwashers, washing machines, and damp soil or constantly wet grass. Nor are vacant land and unoccupied properties
Our invoice carries our business details and licence number (NSW 285594C). Photograph your meter once we finish the repair, so you have the reading Sydney Water asks for.
WHEN WE ARRIVE
What we do when we get there
1
Whose side?
We check whether the leak is at the meter, on Sydney Water’s side or on yours, before anything else.
2
Isolate and test
Sections of pipe shut off one at a time to narrow down where water is escaping.
3
Pinpoint it
Acoustic listening and pressure testing find the leak under lawns, paths and slabs.
4
Fixed price, then repair
You approve the price; we open up only where the leak is.
5
Paperwork for Sydney Water
Our invoice with our licence number, ready for a hidden leak allowance application.
WHAT IT COSTS
What finding a hidden leak costs
Leaks at the meter, the meter tap and on the street side cost you nothing to report: they are Sydney Water’s.
Half of our 126 priced leak detection and repair jobs since 2019 cost between $463 and $1,593, including GST, with a median of $825. What moves it: how deep and long the pipe run is, what it runs under, and how much has to be opened to repair it.
$0 call-out Monday to Friday, 7:00am to 5:00pm. After hours a call-out fee of $199 to $399 applies, confirmed by text before we dispatch.
WHO IS RESPONSIBLE
Who is responsible?
Sydney Water owns and maintains the meter; you are responsible for the other pipes and fittings on your property. Tenants: a failure of the water supply and a burst water service are both urgent repairs (tenants: what to do), and landlords can pass on water usage only for a separately metered, water efficient property (NSW Government).
In strata, many units share one meter at the front of the complex; leaks in the shared pipes are usually common property for the owners corporation (strata: who pays).
INSURANCE
Leaks, water bills and insurance
Insurers usually pay for damage a sudden leak caused, not for the water you lost or the higher bill: that is what the hidden leak allowance is for.
Some policies also pay to find a hidden leak, often only with the insurer’s agreement first, so check before exploratory work starts. How to make a claim
NEXT TIME
Prevent it next time
- Do the one-hour meter test before you go away and when you return
- Watch for greener patches of lawn, damp walls or a cistern that runs between flushes
- Keep 30 cm clear around the meter
- Photograph your meter reading each time a bill arrives, so a jump stands out
- Open and close the meter tap once a year so it works when you need it
QUESTIONS
Water meter questions
WHAT TO DO RIGHT NOW
Other plumbing emergencies
MORE HELP
Emergency help
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