underground leak locator recommendation? (SW Marion Co)

[Cameramonkey]

It appears that we may have an underground water leak at our church/parsonage. We're burning through over 3,000 cubic feet of water a month. (almost 25,000 gallons) And that is no full time staff, and the parsonage is only a family of 5.


My family of 4 that does wasteful things like taking baths and hand washing dishes only uses around 650-700 cubic feet.


Anyone know of a good underground leak detector company?

 

[jamin]

Do you know what material the existing water line is?

 

[Brandon]

You would think that would be somewhat easy to visually see.

I think I would be asking the water company to check/change meter.

 

[Cameramonkey]

You would think that would be somewhat easy to visually see.

I think I would be asking the water company to check/change meter.

You would think.

I could see the meter spinning as I double checked the reading. I watched one hundredth of a cubic foot (10 ounces) every 10 seconds or so.
Granted somebody in the parsonage could have just flushed, but still.

 

[Cameramonkey]

Do you know what material the existing water line is?

I dont. The property was built in 1975. and expanded in 1981.

 

[Ark]

Call up your water agency/company and ask them to send somebody out to look for a leak because the consumption is crazy high. They'll be able to look at previous reads and see the difference.

Have you looked in the meter pit? A lot of places changed over to crummy plastic meters that break and leak. In my experience, water always goes somewhere and it'll show up on the surface sooner or later.

 

[radar8756]

To register on the Water Meter the Leak would have to be Inside the Building

Running Faucet - Toilets - Shower - Outside Faucets

 

[Creedmoor]

To register on the Water Meter the Leak would have to be Inside the Building

Running Faucet - Toilets - Shower - Outside Faucets

Not always my friend, meters can be in a meter pit in the street, alley, front yard, side yard and back yard.

 

[Ark]

To register on the Water Meter the Leak would have to be Inside the Building

Running Faucet - Toilets - Shower - Outside Faucets

Well technically it has to be downstream of the metering device in the meter. Water meters can crack and leak and still register, or the header pipe in the meter pit can fail.

But you should always do a visual inspection of toilets, fixtures, and the grounds. 25k is a lot, that water is going somewhere.

 

[Cameramonkey]

Well technically it has to be downstream of the metering device in the meter. Water meters can crack and leak and still register, or the header pipe in the meter pit can fail.

But you should always do a visual inspection of toilets, fixtures, and the grounds. 25k is a lot, that water is going somewhere.

Yep. I went hands on this afternoon meter looks good.

That is enough water to fill a 12 x 50 swimming pool 4 to 6 feet deep.
Yep. I went hands on this afternoon meter looks good.

 

[Max Volume]

I've probably done thousands of gas leaks both inside and outside but not leaks on a water service. I'm thinking lock up pressure with a pressure test. It would involve removing a pipe at the meter and seeing to it all shut off valves for sinks, terlets and any appliance be shut off. Install a gauge near the loosened pipe at the meter with a gate valve and pressurize with compressed air then shut off the gate valve the compressor was hooked up to. The compressor needs to be off also. Watch the gauge for a pressure drop. If the pressure drops then you know and finding can be a chore without obvious signs of leakage. You can then start over by systematically isolating parts of the system and doing the same individually if necessary. Yeh, it can be a PITA. At least that's how we did it with gas if we couldn't find a leak with our leak detectors (sensit) due to inaccessible piping.

 

[Ark]

Yep. I went hands on this afternoon meter looks good.

That is enough water to fill a 12 x 50 swimming pool 4 to 6 feet deep.
Yep. I went hands on this afternoon meter looks good.

Well there's your problem. Somebody filled the church pool!

Bloomington was city water, not a company, but those guys were pretty good about going out and looking for/advising on leaks. It was their water, too, and they tried to avoid waste. Try em during regular business hours.

If you watch the meter for a while with nothing turned on inside the building, can you see the numbers continuing to run? That's usually your best detection tool. Is there a main shutoff inside the building where the line comes in from outside? Turn that off and you can isolate if the leak is in the supply line between the meter and the structure.

Unless you're on top of a limestone cavern or it's right under a large concrete pad, the water is gonna end up in the yard, in the street, or going down a drain somewhere.

 

[radar8756]

Was this the Church with Neighbors driving across the Lawn ?

Could they have hooked a Garden Hose to a Outside Faucet and "Filled a Swimming Pool ?"

 

[Cameramonkey]

Was this the Church with Neighbors driving across the Lawn ?

Could they have hooked a Garden Hose to a Outside Faucet and "Filled a Swimming Pool ?"

LOL not them.

Talked with the guys that mow the lawn this AM. They mentioned the ground in a certain area by the parsonage is always a bit moist. I think we are onto something.

 

[MrSmitty]

Know any dowsers?.......

 

[radar8756]

If there is One Meter that covers Both the Church and Parsonage ... there "should" be a Shutoff where it Leaves the Church to go to 2nd building

 

[Michigan Slim]

If 1975, I'd wager a copper feed line. It erodes near fittings over time.

 

[jamin]

I dont. The property was built in 1975. and expanded in 1981.

As a licensed plumber, I wouldn’t recommend trying to find the leak I would plan on replacing the water line from the meter to the building. Ideally, it would be to run the new water line into the building. Sometimes that’s not easily done and I have stopped just shy of the foundation and reattached to the existing line.

In my experience once a main starts leaking the cost of finding/fixing the leak and then discovering another in a couple months out weighs the cost of replacing the entire line.

I assume you have verified the leak is between the meter and the building. If not, it’s a really easy thing to isolate and test.

 

[radar8756]

....
I assume you have verified the leak is between the meter and the building. If not, it’s a really easy thing to isolate and test.

Most everywhere I lived that had a Water Meter - It was Inside the Basement ... possibly to prevent Freezing (Wis & Michigan) ... the exception was Florida - where the house was on a Slab and the meter was on the outside wall and I could see the Pipe go through the wall to the Water Heater - then split to Sinks & toilet

The Master Shutoff (even on places without meters) was always outside by the Curb - but needed a Specific Tool to shutoff - and sometimes grass had grown over the access plate

 

[ibbob]

25,000 gallons per month = .5 gpm. Check your tank toilets after they have set for awhile. Pull the lid and see if it's over flowing. If not check the level then flush it. If it fills higher you need a new flapper. 35 years in a water utility. That's where we find the majority of leaks.
If you think it's outside get a tile probe and poke around