Leak Detection Advice

Here’s a chart to help you understand how much water can be lost from even the tiniest leak. Please help us conserve this precious resource – fix all leaking pipes and hoses or turn off the water. And please report any water main leaks to us immediately at 972-617-3524. Don’t assume that someone else has called first! 

Leak Detection Advice:

• Check the Garden: Look at hoses, taps, and drip irrigation systems.
• Check the line running from the meter to the house: While this may sound difficult, you can save money if you can locate the leak for the plumber.
  
  If you know you have a shut-off valve by the house, shut it off temporarily and check the meter by removing the lid and watching the dial on top of the meter.
  
  If you can't see the meter head, try digging around because they sometimes have dirt or grass covering the top of them. Once you locate it and the valve is turned off by the house, watch the meter to see if is turning. If it is still turning, then the leak is between the meter and the house.
  
  At this point, walk the area between the meter and the shut-off valve. Look for signs of a leak such as: soft muddy areas, grass that is greener than the rest or growing much faster than other areas. If you see such an obvious sign, call the plumber or assess if you can make a repair yourself.
• Check the showerhead for leaks: It should be a fairly straightforward home repair if this is a source of leaking.
• Check the toilet for leaks: Check the toilet for leaks by removing the top off the tank and listening very closely. If you hear any hissing at all, try to locate where it is coming from. If you locate the area where the leak is coming from, assess it and determine if you can fix it. If you can't, then call a plumber. You can also add food coloring to the tank and if it leaks out into the bowl it usually will be an indication to change out the flapper.
• Follow the Money: Compare your water utilities bill with past bills to see if it is larger than usual.
• Hot Water Tanks: Check the Pressure Relief Valve on the hot water tank. Sometimes these valves are plumbed directly into a drain and may be leaking without your knowledge. If you can't remove the drain pipe to check for a leak listen for a hissing sound, it may be leaking.
• Locate the water meter: Typically it will be located in the front of your property near the road on either side of the property line. It is in a black box even with the ground. Once you have found the meter you can turn off the water to repair any leaks.
• Read the meter twice: Check the reading on the water meter before you leave the house, when no one else is going to be home for a while using water. After an hour or two, check the reading again. If the numbers have changed any, you have a leak.
• Try to locate a leak by the house: This will require you to locate all the hose-bibs (hose-bibs are the pipes that you hook your hoses to, in case you were unsure!). Usually an average residence has one hose-bib in the front and one in the back, but be sure to find every one that you have and listen carefully.
  
  Once you have located them, take a screwdriver, preferably one long enough to give yourself room to work, and put the metal tip of the screwdriver directly on the metal part of the hose-bib. Put your thumb knuckle on the top of the screwdriver, and then place your knuckle on the side of your head, immediately in front of your ear. The sound will travel directly to your ear drum. The idea, here, is for the solid screwdriver to work like a stethoscope. This works for most metal valves, as well.
  
  Listen carefully for any sound emitting from the hose-bib. If you hear anything at all, remember where it is (perhaps mark it with chalk), and go to the next one. If the sound emitted gets louder at any of the other hose-bibs, then the leak is closer to that particular unit. Note that and contact your plumber: Giving the plumber this information will save the plumber loads of time in finding the leak, which in turn saves you money.
  
  If you survey all the hose-bibs and still find no sound, go into the house and follow the same process with the screwdriver on your house fittings such as faucets in sinks, shower valves, washer, hot water heater (be careful to avoid being scalded when working around the hot water heater). If you are still not sure, just contact the plumber.
• Take a Walk: Take a walk around your house, does the grass in your yard have puddles or large wet spots? These may be indications of a water leak.

• Does Rockett give leak adjustments?: 
  Leak Adjustment Policy

  a) Conditions. The District shall adjust a monthly bill that is excessive due to leakage if the affected customer has satisfied the following conditions:
  
  1) prior to the date of the bill immediately following the excessive bill, the customer must submit a written adjustment request (including statement that the customer has corrected the source of the leak) and a partial payment of the excessive bill equal to the customer’s average monthly usage at current rates;
  
  2) the amount of excess water USAGE must be at least three times (3X) the customer’s average USAGE from the previous (12) months for the same property; the customer's average water USAGE will NOT be counted as leak water. Therefore, the customer's leak water, minus the average USAGE must be (3X) the customer's average water USAGE.
  
  3) the customer must submit documentary evidence that the leak has been repaired (e.g., a plumber’s invoice or receipt for materials purchased to repair the leak); and
  
  4) the customer must not have received a leak adjustment during the previous twelve (12) months regardless of the number of meters serving the customer’s property or properties.